TRAFFIC GROWS 9%TO 184M DESPITE BOEING DELAYS
€700M SHARE BUYBACK ANNOUNCED

Ryanair Holdings plc today (20 May) reported full-year PAT growth of 34% to €1.92bn, as traffic grew 9% to 184m passengers (23% more than pre-Covid).  The Group’s industry leading cost base and increased revenues helped to offset a significantly higher fuel bill as hedged oil prices rose from $65bbl in FY23 to $89bbl in FY24.

	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2024	Change
Customers	168.6m	183.7m	+9%
Load Factor	93%	94%	+1pt
Revenue	€10.78bn	€13.44bn	+25%
Op. Costs	€9.20bn*	€11.38bn	+24%
PAT	€1.43bn*	€1.92bn	+34%

FY24 Highlights:

• Traffic grew 9% to 183.7m, despite Boeing delays.
• Rev. per pax up 15% (ave. fare +21% & ancil. rev. +3%).
• Fuel bill rose 32% (+€1.25bn) to €5.14bn.
• ESG ratings upgraded (MSCI ‘A’ & CDP ‘A-’) & strong 85% CSAT score achieved.
• 146x B737 “Gamechangers” in 584 aircraft fleet at Mar. 2024 due to Boeing delays.
• 5 new bases and over 200 new routes open for S.24.
• FY25 fuel over 70% hedged at just under $80bbl saving €450m.
• Maiden int. div. €0.175 paid in Feb.  Final div. of €0.178 (payable in Sept.).
• 300x B737-MAX-10 order underpins growth to 300m pax (FY34) subject to Boeing deliveries.

 

Ryanair’s Group CEO Michael O’Leary, said:

ENVIRONMENT:
“CDP recently awarded Ryanair an ‘A-’ climate rating (previously ‘B’), topping off a year of ESG upgrades incl. our industry leading MSCI ‘A’ rating (up from ‘BBB’), and retention of our Sustainalytics ranking as Europe’s No.1 airline for ESG.  Our new aircraft and increasing use of SAF has positioned Ryanair as one of the EU’s most environmentally efficient major airlines.  In FY24 we took delivery of 48x B737-8200 “Gamechangers” (4% more seats, 16% less fuel & CO2) and we retro-fitted winglets on over 25% of our B737NG fleet (target 409 by 2026), reducing fuel burn by 1.5% and noise by 6%.  Last year we expanded our SAF partnerships (incl. our first UK delivery from Shell) and we remain on track to achieve our ambitious 2030 goal of powering 12.5% of Ryanair flights with SAF (10% supply already secured).  In Apr. we extended our partnership with Trinity College Dublin’s Sustainable Aviation Research Centre (“TCD”) to 2030.  TCD’s valuable research facility supports the acceleration of SAF deployment across Europe.

In 2023 Europe suffered 67 days of ATC strikes, causing thousands of (avoidable) flight cancellations to/from Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK while France (in particular) uses minimum service laws to overprotect French local/domestic flights.  As we head into S.24, we again call on the EU Commission to deliver urgent reform of Europe’s inefficient ATC system, by protecting overflights (during national strikes) which would deliver important environmental improvements in EU air travel.  Regrettably, there has been zero action from the Commission on this environmental initiative.  We again call on  Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to defend the single market for air travel by protecting 100% of overflights during national ATC strikes, as is already the case in Greece, Italy and Spain.

GOVERNANCE:
The Board is pleased to welcome 2 new NEDs from 1 July, Ms. Jinane Laghrari Laabi (Morocco) and Ms. Amber Rudd (UK).  Jinane is a former partner with McKinsey & Company (Casablanca) covering Morocco, Africa & Middle East.  Amber is a former UK MP who held senior cabinet positions including Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.  To facilitate these appointments, Louise Phelan and Michael Cawley have confirmed that they will step down from the Board at the end of June having completed their 9 year tenure and we thank them sincerely for their leadership and service.  These new appointments, which align with our orderly succession plans, further enhance Ryanair’s Board diversity (geographic, gender and ethnic balance) with a 50:50 gender split following these latest changes. Our Chairman (Stan McCarthy) recently refreshed Board Committees to reflect these Board changes. 

During FY24, Ryanair’s EU ownership continued to increase and was just over 48% at year-end (up from 46%).

FLEET & GROWTH:
Ryanair had a fleet of 146x B737 Gamechangers at year-end and we hope to increase this to 158 by the end of July, which is 23 short of our contracted Boeing deliveries.  We continue to work closely with Boeing CEO (Dave Calhoun), CFO (Brian West) and the new Seattle management team to improve quality and accelerate B737 aircraft deliveries.  There remains a risk that Boeing deliveries could slip further.  We plan to deliver as much growth as possible for passengers and airport partners in S.24, although these delays mean more traffic growth will occur in lower yielding H2 than planned.  To facilitate this growth, we will continue to take delivery of B737s through Jul., Aug., and Sept., and Lauda recently extended 3x A320 op. leases by 4-years to 2028.

Travel demand in Europe is strong for S.24 and, despite Boeing delivery delays, we will operate our largest ever Summer schedule with over 200 new routes (and 5 new bases).  S.24 short-haul EU capacity is constrained as competitor airlines ground A320 aircraft for P&W engine repairs (these disruptions will likely run into 2026) and OEMs struggle to recover their delivery backlogs.  We therefore urge customers to book Summer travel early on www.ryanair.com to secure the best airfares before they sell out.

We expect European airline consolidation to continue, with the takeover of ITA (Italy) and Air Europa (Spain) progressing and the sale of TAP (Portugal) next.  This, in addition to A320 fleet groundings and the large backlog of OEM aircraft deliveries, is likely to constrain capacity growth in Europe for some years.  These capacity constraints, combined with our significant cost advantage (incl. FY25 fuel hedge savings of €450m), strong balance sheet, low-cost aircraft orders and industry leading resilience, will (we believe) underpin a decade of profitable growth for Ryanair as we grow to 300m passengers by FY34. 

FY24 BUSINESS REVIEW:

Revenue & Costs:
FY24 scheduled revenue increased 32% to €9.15bn.  Traffic grew 9% to 183.7m while ave. fare rose 21% to €49.80, thanks to a record H1 and strong Easter traffic in late Mar., offset by softer than expected Q3 fares and load factors (following the sudden, but welcome, removal of Ryanair flights from many OTA Pirate websites in early Dec.).  Ancillary sales increased 12% to €4.30bn (c.€23.40 per passenger).  Total FY24 revenue rose 25% to €13.44bn.  Operating costs increased 24% to €11.38bn, primarily due to a 32% increase in fuel costs, higher staff costs (incl. pay restoration, crew, engineering & handler pay rises, higher crewing ratios and pilot productivity pay as we improve operational resilience) and Boeing delivery delays.  More importantly, the widening cost gap between Ryanair and our EU competitors (which is further enhanced by Ryanair’s low-cost financing and net interest income) remains a growing competitive advantage.

Our FY25 fuel requirements are over 70% hedged at just under $80bbl and 80% of €/$ opex is hedged at $1.11.  This strong hedge position locks-in approx. €450m savings on fuel, and substantially insulates the Group from current fuel price volatility.

Balance Sheet & Liquidity:
Our balance sheet remains one of the strongest in the industry with a BBB+ credit rating (both S&P and Fitch) and €4.12bn gross cash at year-end, despite €2.4bn capex and well over €1bn debt repayments.  Year-end net cash was €1.37bn (PY: €0.56bn), somewhat boosted by Boeing delivery delays.  Our owned B737 fleet (556 aircraft) is fully unencumbered, which significantly widens our cost advantage over competitor airlines, many of whom are exposed to rising aircraft lease and financing costs.

SHAREHOLDER RETURNS:
Our strategy, as Ryanair recovered from Covid, was to prioritise pay restoration and multi-year pay increases for our people, which has now been delivered.  Secondly, in a higher interest rate environment, we intended to pay down remaining debt as it matures in 2025 and 2026, while also financing our aircraft capex from internal resources.  Once these priorities have been secured, Group policy is to prioritise growth to drive shareholder value while maintaining a strong, investment grade, balance sheet, and delivering shareholder returns.

In line with the above Capital Allocation Policy, Ryanair paid an interim dividend of €0.175 per share in Feb. with a final dividend of €0.178 per share due in Sept. following our AGM.  Given current surplus cash, the Board has approved a €700m share buyback now (which will formally launch later this week).  This buyback when completed, will increase the funds Ryanair has returned to shareholders since 2008 to over €7.8bn.

OUTLOOK:
Ryanair expects to grow FY25 traffic by 8% (198m to 200m passengers), subject to Boeing deliveries returning to contracted levels before year-end.  Our cost advantage over competitors continues to widen, even though we expect FY25 unit costs to rise modestly as ex-fuel costs (incl. annualised pay & productivity allowance increases, higher handling & ATC fees and the impact of Gamechanger delivery delays on crewing ratios and fixed costs) is substantially offset by our fuel hedge savings and our rising interest income.  With EU short-haul capacity constrained, S.24 demand is positive, with bookings trending ahead of last year.  Recent pricing is softer than we expected, with Q1 requiring more price stimulation than last year (particularly as half of Easter moved into Mar. and out of Apr.).  While  visibility is limited, and the outcome will be heavily dependent on close-in peak S.24 pricing, we remain cautiously optimistic that peak S.24 fares will be flat to modestly ahead of last summer.  Q4 FY25 will not benefit from an early Easter (as it did in FY24).  It is therefore too early to be able to provide sensible or accurate FY25 PAT guidance.  The final outcome for FY25 will be heavily dependent upon avoiding adverse events during FY25 (such as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, extensive ATC disruptions or further Boeing delivery delays).”   

 

RYANAIR’S LOW FARE FLIGHTS NOW AVAILABLE TO BOOK AS PART OF ESKY PACKAGE HOLIDAYS

Following the announcement of their “Approved OTA” (online travel agent) partnership in April last, Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs, 9^th May) announced that its low fare flights are now available to book as part of eSky holiday packages, just in time for the peak Summer holiday season. For eSky customers who wish to book Ryanair flights/ancillaries, this exciting new partnership means;

• Customers benefit from Ryanair’s low fares combined with eSky’s dynamic holiday packages.
• Customers receive all flight-related communications directly from Ryanair, including T&Cs and important flight updates.
• Customers have direct access to their myRyanair account to manage their booking.
• Customers don’t have to complete Ryanair’s customer verification.

 

Over the past few months, Ryanair has signed “Approved OTA” distribution agreements with six large OTAs, including this partnership with eSky, demonstrating how OTAs can work transparently with Ryanair to benefit consumers.

Speaking from Warsaw, Ryanair CMO, Dara Brady, said:

“We’re delighted to be in Warsaw with the eSky team today to officially launch our partnership. This is great news for eSky customers who will now be able to book Ryanair’s low fares as part of their eSky booking with full price transparency (no overcharges or hidden mark-ups) and direct access to their booking through their myRyanair account.

With the peak summer season just around the corner, we look forward to seeing lots of happy eSky customers onboard our low fare Ryanair flights across 300 routes from our 13 Poland airports.”

eSky Group CEO, Łukasz Habaj, said:
“It’s our pleasure to be here with Ryanair and announce that we’re finally live with our integration. This partnership underscores our commitment to bringing our customers value with stand-alone flights and City Break and Holiday packages. Ryanair’s extensive flight network and low prices will significantly contribute to our offering and strengthen the Lowest Price Guarantee on our Flight+Hotel offers.”

RESEARCH SHOWS 43% EMISSION REDUCTION BY USING 50% SAF BLEND

Ryanair, Europe’s no. 1 airline, announced today (Thurs, 9^th May) the extension of its partnership with Trinity College Dublin (TCD) out to the end of the decade as the airline makes a further €2.5m donation (€4m total) to fund the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre.

Underpinned by an initial €1.5m donation from Ryanair, Research at the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre started in Sept 2021 addressing the complex challenge of progressing sustainable aviation. With Ryanair’s extended funding, the multi-disciplinary research team will continue to focus on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and zero carbon aircraft propulsion systems as well as expanding the scope of the research to examine aviation’s non-CO2 emissions.

Over the past 3 years, the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre has made significant research developments in the following core areas;

• examining the sustainability of different SAF types
• reducing the cost to certify new SAF candidates
• evaluating the operating impact of zero carbon aircraft propulsion and noise mapping

Results of this research, which have been presented at the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, show that the emission intensity of a passenger travelling on a Boeing 737-800 NG flight from Amsterdam to Dublin can be reduced by 43% by using a 50% SAF blend. This could be further reduced by using Ryanair’s ‘Gamechanger’ Boeing 737-8200, which is 16% more fuel efficient than the 737-800 NG.

Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability, Thomas Fowler, said: 

“Progressing towards our ambitious sustainability goals of Net Zero by 2050 and 12.5% SAF by 2030 will not be possible without continued support for the best-in-class research that is being done by the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin. Expanding out the research to better understand the non-CO2 impacts from aviation is an important next step to lead our industry towards more sustainable aviation.”

Dr Linda Doyle, Provost and President of Trinity College Dublin, said:

“Research must be central to combating climate change and promoting sustainable transport. Trinity is now recognised as the 14^th best university in the world in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and has become a go-to international destination for sustainable aviation research. I want to thank Ryanair for their support: It is good news for the researchers in the Centre and for the students who will benefit from the teaching arising from the research.” 

Professor Sinéad Ryan, Dean of Research at Trinity College Dublin, said:

“Advancing sustainable aviation presents a complex challenge, which requires the multidisciplinary approach we take here in Trinity. Ryanair’s continued support will help to ensure ongoing and new research projects deliver a number of improvements and innovations, as well as supporting interactions with regulators, policy makers and aircraft manufacturers in the pursuit of more economically and environmentally sustainable commercial aviation.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (8 May) welcomed the EU General Court’s ruling on discriminatory State aid favouring Condor over all other EU airlines.

The German Govt granted Condor over €525m in illegal State Aid in 2021, including over €204m for Covid-19 related damages and over €321m for restructuring support.

The General Court already annulled the European Commission’s unjustified initial decision regarding most of the Covid-19 compensation in 2021, and today’s judgement confirms that the over €321m State Aid received by Condor as liquidity support was also unlawful.

Over €40bn in discriminatory State subsidies were handed out to EU flag carriers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The EU General Court has ruled that the billions of euros in State aid received by SAS, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and certain Italian airlines were unlawful.

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“One of the EU’s greatest achievements is the creation of a true single market for air transport. The European Commission’s approval of the German aid to Condor went against the fundamental principles of EU law. Today’s judgment confirms once again that the Commission must act as a guardian of the level playing field in air transport and cannot sign-off discriminatory State aid promoted by national Govts. The EU General Court’s intervention is a triumph for fair competition and consumers across the EU.

The Commission’s scrutiny of State aid in the aviation sector is now particularly relevant, given that during the Covid-19 pandemic, over €40bn in discriminatory State subsidies were handed out to EU flag carriers. The EU General Court has already ruled that billions of euros in State aid received by SAS, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and certain Italian airlines were unlawful.

The European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition has still not taken action to force recovery of this unlawful State aid, nor has it imposed any measures to remedy the damage to competition caused by the Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch, French, and Italian Govts. favouring their local airlines over other EU airlines, in breach of EU law. Today’s judgment further underlines the need for the European Commission to immediately act to recover these illegal State aid packages and order remedies to restore at least some of the damage done to competition and consumers.”

RYANAIR’S LOW FARE FLIGHTS NOW AVAILABLE TO BOOK AS PART OF ON THE BEACH PACKAGE HOLIDAYS

Following the announcement of their “Approved OTA” (online travel agent) partnership Feb last, Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs, 2^nd May) announced that its low fare flights are now available to book as part of On the Beach holiday packages, just in time for the peak Summer holiday season. For On the Beach customers who wish to book Ryanair flights/ancillaries as part of their On the Beach package holiday, this exciting new partnership means;

• Customers benefit from Ryanair’s low fares combined with On the Beach’s flexible payment plans, customer perks (including free lounge and fast track), and ATOL protection.
• Customers receive all flight-related communications directly from Ryanair, including T&Cs & important flight updates.
• Customers have direct access to their myRyanair account to manage their booking.
• Customers don’t have to complete Ryanair’s customer verification.

Over the past few months, Ryanair has signed “Approved OTA” distribution agreements with six large OTAs, including this partnership with On the Beach, demonstrating how OTAs can work transparently with Ryanair to benefit consumers.

Speaking from On the Beach’s Headquarters in Manchester, Ryanair CEO, Eddie Wilson, said:

“We’re delighted to be in Manchester with the On the Beach team this morning to launch our partnership with Ryanair flights now available to book as part of On the Beach package holidays. This is great news for On the Beach customers who will now be able to book Ryanair’s low fares as part of their On the Beach package holiday with full price transparency (no overcharges or hidden mark-ups) and direct access to their booking through their myRyanair account.

With the peak summer season just around the corner, we look forward to seeing lots of happy On the Beach customers onboard our low fare Ryanair flights to over 170 destinations from our 22 UK airports.”

Shaun Morton, CEO of On the Beach Group plc said:

“Ryanair is leading the way in showing how low-cost airlines and online travel agents can work together to give customers choice and value for their holidays. As the number one airline in Europe, Ryanair offers an extensive variety of routes at competitive prices, and we are so pleased to have successfully integrated this into our offer to customers.

This partnership means that our customers will have a seamless experience when booking a package holiday with a Ryanair flight, while still enjoying all of the benefits and protections that come with booking with an online travel agent. This industry-leading, collaborative approach with Ryanair is a blueprint for how the industry can work together to ensure consumers have choice and free, fair access to flights across the market.”

Ryanair Holdings plc today (Thurs, 2 May) released Apr 2024 traffic stats as follows:

RYANAIR CALLS AGAIN ON URSULA VON DER LEYEN TO PROTECT OVERFLIGHTS AND KEEP EU SKIES OPEN

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (24 Apr) announced cancellations of over 300 flights, due to tomorrow’s French ATC strike on Thursday, 25^th April. This is due to France’s failure to protect overflights during its national air strikes. Even though it’s French ATC that are striking, most disrupted passengers are not flying to/from France but overfly French airspace en route to their destination (e.g., UK – Greece, Spain, Italy). French law unfairly protects domestic flights which means French flights are protected but non-French flights get cancelled. Ryanair again calls on the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, to take urgent action to protect overflights, which she has failed to do for the last 5 years. EU citizens’ freedom of movement is being denied by these ATC strikes and we call on passengers to join our campaign by signing our ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition, which has over 2.1m signatures from Europe’s fed up passengers.

Ryanair and its 200m passengers demand that the EU Commission take the following measures in order to protect overflights during French ATC strikes;

1. Protect French overflights by law during ATC strikes as they do in Greece, Italy and Spain
2. Allow Europe’s other ATCs to manage flights over France while French ATC are on strike
3. Mandate that French ATC unions must engage in binding arbitration before calling strikes

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:

“French air traffic controllers are free to go on strike, that’s their right, but we should be cancelling French flights, not flights leaving Ireland, going to Italy, or flights from Germany to Spain or Scandinavia to Portugal. The European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has failed for 5 years to take any action to protect overflights and the single market for air travel. We’re again calling on her to take action to protect overflights which will eliminate over 90% of these flight cancellations.

In June, we will have European elections, we encourage everyone to vote in these elections and demand your MEP and the European Commission to take action to protect overflights. We can’t have the skies over Europe repeatedly closed because French Air Traffic Controllers are going on strike.

Protect overflights during national ATC strikes, reduce flight cancellations and disruptions and let’s have a better summer for all of Europe’s citizens and visitors.”