Ryanair Shares Plummet on Q1 Miss: Traffic Up, Fares Down & More

Ryanair Holdings plc RYAAY shares are trading lower after the company reported first-quarter FY25 results.

Revenue fell 1% Y/Y to €3.63 billion. Scheduled revenues declined 6% Y/Y to €2.33 billion, with a 15% Y/Y decrease in average fares to €41.93. 

Meanwhile, traffic grew 10% Y/Y to 55.5 million customers in the quarter, with a record 19.3 million passengers reported for June earlier this month.

Also, Ancillary revenue rose 10% to €1.30 billion in the quarter. Net profit dipped 46% Y/Y to €360 million.

In USD terms, Ryanair’s first-quarter EPS stood at $1.69, missing the consensus of $2.86, and sales of $3.904 billion came below the consensus of $4.260 billion.

Operating costs increased 11% Y/Y to €3.26 billion as fuel hedge savings offset higher staff and other costs, which was in part due to The Boeing Company BA delivery delays.

As of June 30, net cash stood at €1.74 billion, and it had a total fleet of 567 aircraft. 

The company’s fuel needs are around 75% hedged at under $80bbl for FY25 and expects to deliver savings of about €450 million on fuel.

Dividend: Ryanair board of directors proposed a final dividend of €0.178 per share, payable after the company’s AGM in September 2024.

In the quarter, the company repurchased and canceled about 12 million shares for €249 million as part of a €700 million buyback program launched in May 2024.

FY25 Outlook: Ryanair continues to expect traffic to grow by 8% (198 million to 200 million passengers), subject to no worsening Boeing delivery delays.

Ryanair says second-quarter demand is strong, but pricing is weaker than expected. The company now anticipates second-quarter fares to be notably lower than last summer, contrary to the previous expectation of stability or modest increases.

Ryanair states that they have little visibility for the third and fourth quarters and that the fourth quarter will miss the boost from last year’s early Easter.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via IShares Trust IShares MSCI Ireland ETF EIRL and Defiance Hotel, Airline, And Cruise ETF CRUZ.

Price Action: RYAAY shares are down 12.8% at $99.70 premarket at the last check Monday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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