Ryanair reported a 10% rise in full year profit after tax

Ryanair reported a 10% rise in full year profit after tax to €1.45 billion despite the cancellation of thousands of flights last autumn.

Average fares dropped by 3% last year which helped drive traffic growth of 9% to 130 million.

The company’s planes were 95% full on average.

The airline’s biggest growth markets were Germany, Italy and Spain.

Breakdown of Ryanair’s full year results:

Year End 31 Mar Results (IFRS) Mar 31, 2017 Mar 31, 2018 % Change
Guests (m) 120.0 130.3 +9%
Revenue (m) €6,648 €7,151 +8%
Profit after Tax (m) €1,316 €1,450 +10%
Net Margin 20% 20%
Basic EPS €1.053 €1.215 +15%

Source: “Ryanair FY2018 Results”

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Ryanair is low-cost Irish airline. The airline was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland. The airline has primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports.

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:

“We are pleased to report a 10% increase in profits, with an unchanged net margin of 20%, despite a 3% cut in air fares, during a year of overcapacity in Europe, leading to a weaker fare environment, rising fuel prices, and the recovery from our Sept. 2017 rostering management failure.”

Ryanair cut its profit guidance to between €1.25bn and €1.35bn because of higher costs and lower fares.

The company said: “We expect staff costs to rise by almost €200m, half of which is higher pay for our front line people and half is additional headcount for growth.”

Ryanair also said that it is still preparing for a hard Brexit and the impact it will have on the business.

The airline remains “concerned” at the “likely impact of a hard Brexit”.

It said: “In these circumstances, it is likely that our UK shareholders will be treated as non-EU and this could potentially affect Ryanair’s licencing and flight rights.”