Ryanair reports full-year profit up 13 per cent, cuts traffic for coming year

[DUBLIN] Ryanair on Monday reported a profit after tax of 1 billion euros (S$1.54 billion) for the year to March 31, but said it was unable to provide a forecast for the current year due to Covid-19 and cut its annual passenger traffic target by a further 20 per cent.

The Irish low-cost carrier, Europe's largest, said it expected to post a loss of 200 million euros in the three months to the end of June but said a forecast for the full-year was impossible as it had "no visibility" on customer behaviour and demand once it reopens much of its network on July 1.

It cut its passenger target for the year to end-March 2021 to 80 million, down from a target of 100 million given last week and from an original target of 154 million.

The airline last week has said it expects a surge in bookings in the coming weeks from people who have been cooped up at home for months.

Ryanair shares closed on Friday at 8.45 euros, down 45 per cent in three months compared to a fall of 69 per cent at rival easyJet and 73 per cent at British Airways owner IAG.

Ryanair has a current cash balance of 4.1 billion euros, while the airline's weekly cash burn has dropped from around 200 million euros in March to just over 60 million in May, it said.

REUTERS