Ryanair shares slump 16pc after 85pc drop in April-June profit
Shares in Ryanair Holdings PLC fell on Monday after Europe's leading budget airline reported a surprising 85 per cent drop in first-quarter net profits, citing the high cost of fuel and recessionary fears.
By Agencies |
DUBLIN: Shares in Ryanair Holdings PLC fell on Monday after Europe's leading budget airline reported a surprising 85 per cent drop in first-quarter net profits, citing the high cost of fuel and recessionary fears.
Chief Executive Michael O'Leary warned that Ryanair could be headed for its first full-year loss since entering the Irish and British stock exchanges in 1997. He said the outlook was poor because of high oil prices and tightening consumer spending.
``The emerging economic recession in the United Kingdom and Ireland caused by the global credit crisis and high oil prices means that consumer confidence is plummeting, and we believe this will have an adverse impact on fares for the rest of the year,'' O'Leary said. ``We will respond as always with lower fares and aggressive pricing to keep people flying and maintain our high load factors.''
For the quarter ending June 30, Ryanair reported a net profit of 21 million euro($33 million), compared with euro 138.9 million euro in April-June 2007. O'Leary noted that the 2008 performance excluded Easter, a high-traffic holiday that unusually fell in March this year.
Sales rose 12 per cent to 777 million euro ($1.22 billion), which was weaker than analysts' forecasts. Ryanair shares fell 16 per cent to 2.71 euro ($4.26) on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Chief Executive Michael O'Leary warned that Ryanair could be headed for its first full-year loss since entering the Irish and British stock exchanges in 1997. He said the outlook was poor because of high oil prices and tightening consumer spending.
``The emerging economic recession in the United Kingdom and Ireland caused by the global credit crisis and high oil prices means that consumer confidence is plummeting, and we believe this will have an adverse impact on fares for the rest of the year,'' O'Leary said. ``We will respond as always with lower fares and aggressive pricing to keep people flying and maintain our high load factors.''
For the quarter ending June 30, Ryanair reported a net profit of 21 million euro($33 million), compared with euro 138.9 million euro in April-June 2007. O'Leary noted that the 2008 performance excluded Easter, a high-traffic holiday that unusually fell in March this year.
Sales rose 12 per cent to 777 million euro ($1.22 billion), which was weaker than analysts' forecasts. Ryanair shares fell 16 per cent to 2.71 euro ($4.26) on the Irish Stock Exchange.
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