Ryanair Narrows Guidance After Higher Fuel Costs Hit Adjusted Post-Tax Profit

By Anthony O. Goriainoff

Ryanair Holdings said third-quarter adjusted profit after tax fell as higher fuel costs offset revenue gains, and narrowed its guidance for the year.

The Irish budget airline said Monday that for the quarter ended Dec. 31 adjusted post-tax profit--its preferred metric--was 15 million euros ($16.3 million) compared with EUR211 million the year before.

Revenue for the quarter was EUR2.70 billion, compared with EUR2.31 billion a year ago.

The company said revenue per passenger rose 9%, with ancillary revenue up 2% to around EUR23 and average fares up 13% to over EUR42.

The airline carried 41.4 million passengers in the quarter compared with 38.4 million a year ago. Load factor--a measure of how full a plane is--for the period fell one percentage point to 92%.

The company narrowed its profit after tax guidance for the year to between EUR1.85 billion and EUR1.95 billion, from prior guidance of between EUR1.85 billion and EUR2.05 billion.

The company said that although it will benefit from the first half of Easter traffic falling in late March, this was unlikely to fully offset weaker-than-previously-expected load factors and yields in late third quarter and early fourth quarter.

Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 29, 2024 01:44 ET (06:44 GMT)

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