Ryanair buoyant, profits soar, overtake BA |
|
|
Published
:
Tue, 31 May 2005 17:30
|
The Irish budget airline, Ryanair Holdings is optimistic about the astonishing growth in passenger numbers.
Severe cost controls methodologies besides the growth in passenger numbers and the well-linked routes across Western Europe are reasons galore for a unexpected increase in profits.
Europe’s biggest low-cost airline is all with “smiles” on their journey, to fly 35 million passengers this year, overtaking British Airways for the first time.
Michael O’Leary, Chief Executive of the airline on its 20th birthday celebration, expresses, “The world's favorite airline is being overtaken by the world's lowest price airline. Now there's a thing."
With incessant bookings for the summers, Ryanair proclaims that barring goodwill charges and non-recurring items, profits rose to 268.9 million euros at 19% and revenue increased at 1.34 billion euros at 24% rise with passenger traffic escalating by almost one fifth.
| Traffic forecast increase from the earlier prediction of 23% to 27%, along with the shares soaring to 3.8% in London, the road ahead is "more positive than it was this time last year."
"If our competitors continue to maintain surcharges or continue to remove capacity from our markets, then yields should be more stable, even as we continue to expand," said O'Leary.
The Chief Executive further expressed his concerns about oil prices, which is worrying due to high fuel cots accompanied by unstable nature of the market. The airline has hedged 75% of its fuel costs for next winter at $47 a barrel to avoid the conventional volatile winter season. Six airlines have quoted quarterly losses due to high fuel costs with bent crude reaching a record of $56.51 a barrel in April.
O’ Leary further said that he is quite convinced with the performance of new routes and bases as far as recent expansions are concerned.
"Our new routes and bases continue to perform well. We have been most encouraged by the strong advance in bookings at out new Luton and Liverpool bases where passengers are looking for an alternative to easy Jet’s high prices," he said.
The carrier is positive to announce more routes over the coming weeks for next winter. The Chief Executive also added “its acquisition of 140 Boeing 737 for delivery during the 2008-2012 period was at a substantial discount to what it paid for its previous order”.
The deal that was revealed earlier endeavors to improve cash balances and consequently reduce aircraft per seat operating costs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Print this Story
