Ryanair has expressed disappointment in its business performance, reflecting a similar sentiment among its investors. The stock of the Irish budget airline has fallen by 17% following a quarterly earnings report that fell short of expectations. The company’s revenue remained at €3.6 billion ($4 billion), consistent with the previous year, but profits nearly halved, dropping to €336 million. CEO Michael O’Leary noted that while an increasing number of passengers are flying with Ryanair, the airline is working harder to achieve this.
O’Leary mentioned on the earnings call that they are experiencing a strong traffic growth of 10%, totaling 55 million passengers, but emphasized that this growth comes at a price. He added, “We’re having to repeatedly stimulate fares and bookings,” and that recent performance and close-in bookings have been disappointing, particularly as they approach the peak travel months of July, August, and September.
In addition to decreased demand, Ryanair is facing increased labor costs, and O’Leary pointed a finger at Boeing for ongoing delivery delays, a persistent issue he has highlighted. He has remained supportive of Boeing despite recent incidents but has urged the company to improve its performance.
Moreover, O’Leary indicated to investors that customers seem to be facing more challenges than during the early recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic issues such as inflation and slow growth are affecting consumers in the European Union. Consequently, he suggested that operating fewer aircraft might ultimately benefit Ryanair.
“We will have less capacity going into summer 2025 than we had originally scheduled with our Boeing delivery, and then we’re looking at two years of virtually no capacity growth,” O’Leary stated. He expressed that if consumers are under financial pressure for the next year or so, this situation might not be detrimental for the airline.