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”
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.”