Ryanair has expressed dissatisfaction with its recent business performance, leading to a significant drop in investor confidence. The Irish low-cost airline’s stock has fallen by 17% following a disappointing quarterly earnings report. The company reported revenues of €3.6 billion ($4 billion), nearly identical to the previous year. However, profits plummeted to €336 million, almost halving compared to the last reporting period. CEO Michael O’Leary mentioned that while they are successfully attracting more passengers, it requires considerable effort.
O’Leary noted that traffic growth is robust, with a 10% increase to 55 million passengers, but this growth is contingent on pricing strategies. He pointed out that the company is facing challenges with weak close-in bookings and performance as they approach peak travel months, particularly July, August, and September.
In addition to declining demand, Ryanair is grappling with rising labor costs and has attributed some issues to delivery delays from Boeing, which have long frustrated O’Leary. Despite previous incidents, he has been vocal about the need for Boeing to improve its performance.
O’Leary also highlighted that consumers are facing more challenges than earlier in the COVID-19 economic recovery, as inflation and stagnating growth within the European Union begin to take their toll. This situation may influence Ryanair’s operations, leading to adjustments in capacity.
He stated, “We will have less capacity into summer 2025 than we are originally scheduled to have with our Boeing delivery, and then, we’re into two years of essentially no capacity growth at all.” He concluded that if consumer pressure continues for the next year to 18 months, operating with reduced capacity might not be detrimental for the airline.