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In a record summer for Ryanair, it posted a half-year profit of £1. 9 billion and announced its first normal dividend payment to investors.
The cheap Irish airline, known for its strict handling of passenger refunds, has announced that it will return 400 million euros (£345 million) to its shareholders. The first dividend will be divided similarly to €0. 35 per percentage between February and September. next year.
This comes after the busiest summer getaway season in Ryanair’s history. Revenue rose 30% to €8. 58 (€7. 4 billion) as sun worshippers and tourists returned to demand as Covid restrictions were lifted. Total profit increased by 59% to €2. 2 billion.
The company, whose London hub is Stansted Airport, has added six new destinations from there for the summer. It flies to 180 destinations from the capital, including Gatwick and Luton. A total of 194 new routes were opened in the third quarter. that covers the summer. In August, it carried 18. 9 million people, up 11% year-on-year, on the longest schedule ever, with 96% of available seats occupied.
Ryanair’s lead executive, Michael O’Leary, praised his company’s “investment in resilience” during the peak summer travel season, which included “an increase in equipment ratio, a doubling of capacity at our Dublin and Warsaw hubs, and an improvement in travel days. “application. et Continuously improve live communications with visitors.
This helped overcome what he called “major disruptions at ATC [air traffic control] this year. “
O’Leary reiterated his call for “urgent reform of Europe’s inefficient ATC system,” calling it “one of the most vital environmental projects the EU can implement,” with some countries prioritizing domestic flight strikes, which means diversions to foreign services.
“In 2023, the French ATC has (so far) inflicted more than 60 days of strike action in our sector, in which the French government used minimum service legislation to protect local/domestic flights while disproportionately cancelling overflights,” O’Leary said.
Ahead of the holiday travel season, Ryanair described advance bookings as “strong” but said European air traffic capacity is only expected to operate at 94% of pre-Covid levels. Rising fuel prices and some potential delays in the delivery of its new Boeing 300-MAX 10 are points that likely reflect its full-year traffic figure, which is still expected to reach 183. 5 million, a 9% increase.
But conceivable delays in the delivery of new aircraft may also be a question for next summer. Ryanair revealed that it was “concerned” that up to 10 of the 57 flights planned until then “could be delayed until winter 2024”.
Looking even further ahead, O’Leary has set Ryanair on course to reap regular dividends. The company has pledged to pay “approximately 25%” of its annual profit to shareholders, as well as any excess money in the form of special dividends or percentage buybacks. “Current market conditions” will be taken into account and “a prudent point of liquidity is maintained to finance debt and investment needs”.
He also highlighted the option of closing deals after the pandemic: “We expect European airlines to continue consolidating in the next 2 to 3 years, with the acquisition of ITA (Italy) and the sale of TAP (Portugal) and SAS (Scandinavia). ) already underway. ‘
Russell Pointon, of the investment research organization Edison, said that “Ryanair’s currency effects in the first part of the year took off. . . The outlook for the year is cautiously positive despite potential winter losses and limited visibility for the fourth quarter. “
London-listed Ryanair shares rose 92 pence to 1420 pence, up more than 7%.