Budget airline Ryanair (LON:RYA) reported a record full year profit on Tuesday, despite expectations that it would be hit by the effects of terrorist attacks and the fallout from Brexit.
Full year net profits rose 6 percent to 1.316 billion euros, with fares cut by 13 percent and an ‘industry leading’ 94 percent load factor.
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:
“We are pleased to report a 6 percent increase in profit after tax to 1.316 billion euros, despite difficult trading conditions in 2017 caused by a series of security events at European cities, a switch of charter capacity from North Africa, Turkey and Egypt to mainland Europe, and a sharp decline in Sterling following the June 2016 Brexit vote. We reacted to these challenges by improving our customer experience, and stimulating growth with lower fares.”
However, looking forward O’Leary added:
“Investors should be wary of the risk of negative Brexit developments, or any repeat of last year’s security events at European cities, which could damage consumer confidence, close-in bookings and this FY18 guidance”.
Ryanair shares are currently trading down 1.22 percent at 17.79 (0907GMT).
