After a slew of profit upgrades and a bumper first half, a 66 per cent leap in annual profit at Ryanair (RYA) comes as no surprise. A number of factors have worked to the airline's advantage, including the slump in oil prices, which helped to drive down unit costs. Excluding fuel, costs stayed flat, but net margins still jumped from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Ryanair has invested heavily in its 'Always Getting Better' customer experience programme. It appears to have paid off: customer numbers rose 11 per cent last year to 90.6m, as load factors - the capacity utilisation of public transport services - jumped from 83 per cent to 88 per cent. To keep up with rising passenger numbers, Ryanair has placed orders for another 183 B737-800 aircraft (which should all be delivered by 2018) and 200 B737 Max 200s from 2019 onwards.
Forward bookings are running 4 per cent ahead of last year. But Ryanair bosses have warned there could be an "irrational pricing response" from competitors this year, as other budget airlines attempt to undercut low fares.
Analysts are reviewing forecasts in light of management's guidance for net income between €940m and €970m for the March 2016 year-end. This compares with a consensus estimate of €974m.
| RYANAIR (RYA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,162ȼ | MARKET VALUE: | €15.9bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,161-1,163ȼ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,169ȼ | LOW: 621ȼ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 295ȼ | NET CASH: | €364m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (€bn) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3.63 | 421 | 25.2 | nil |
| 2012 | 4.39 | 633 | 38.0 | nil |
| 2013 | 4.88 | 651 | 39.5 | nil |
| 2014 | 5.04 | 591 | 37.0 | nil |
| 2015 | 5.65 | 982 | 62.6 | nil* |
| % change | +12 | +66 | +69 | - |
*Does not include special dividend worth €520m or 37ȼ a share paid in February 2015 £1=€1.41 | ||||
