Ryanair has expressed dissatisfaction with its business performance, causing disappointment among investors as well. The Irish budget airline witnessed a 17% decline in its stock price following the release of a quarterly earnings report that was weaker than anticipated. The company reported revenues of €3.6 billion ($4 billion), which remained stable compared to the previous year. However, profits nearly halved to €336 million. CEO Michael O’Leary noted that while the airline is attracting more passengers, it is also significantly harder to do so.
“Traffic growth is robust, rising 10% to 55 million passengers, but it comes at a cost,” O’Leary stated during the earnings call. He emphasized the need to continually stimulate fares and bookings, reporting that recent close-in fare performance and bookings were disappointing, particularly as the airline approaches the peak travel months of July, August, and September.
In addition to weak demand, Ryanair is facing higher labor costs and cited delays in aircraft deliveries from Boeing as a contributing factor, a longstanding concern for O’Leary. While he has defended Boeing after issues with a 737 Max 9 earlier this year, he has consistently called for improvements from the manufacturer.
Despite these challenges, O’Leary told investors that customers of the airline seem to be feeling the impacts of years of inflation and declining economic growth in the European Union. He suggested that operating fewer aircraft may actually benefit Ryanair in the current economic climate.
“We will have less capacity during the summer of 2025 than we were originally scheduled to have with our Boeing deliveries, after which we will experience two years of essentially no capacity growth,” O’Leary explained. “If consumers are under financial pressure for the next year or 18 months, that might not be the worst situation for us.”