Ryanair posts full year net income of €1.316bn

Ryanair has posted a 6% increase in full year net profit to €1.316bn. The combination of a 13% cut in average fares, coupled with Year 3 of the “Always Getting Better” (AGB) programme delivered 13% traffic growth to 120m customers, and a load factor of 94%. Unit costs fell by 11% (ex-fuel down 5%). Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said: “We are pleased to report a 6% increase in PAT to €1.316bn, despite difficult trading conditions in FY17 caused by a series of security events at European cities, a switch of charter capacity from North Africa, Turkey and Egypt to mainland Europe, and a sharp decline in Sterling following the June 2016 Brexit vote. We reacted to these challenges by improving our customer experience, and stimulating growth with lower fares.” During FY17 the airline took delivery of 52 new B737’s, launched 206 new routes, and opened 10 new bases at primary airports in Bucharest, Corfu, Frankfurt Main, Hamburg, Ibiza, Nuremburg, Prague, Sofia, Timisoara and Vilnius. Its fleet will grow to 427 aircraft by March ‘18 as it increases traffic to 130m customers.