Investing,com -- Ryanair on Monday reported full-year profit at the upper end of guidance on Monday, with stronger-than-expected summer fare trends lifting shares more than 6% as investors reacted to an upbeat start to fiscal 2026.
Net profit for the year ended March 31 fell 16% to €1.61 billion, compared to €1.91 billion a year earlier, but matched the top of the company’s €1.55 billion–€1.61 billion forecast range and was in line with consensus expectations of €1.6 billion.
Operating profit (EBIT) came in at €1.56 billion, about 5% below market estimates of €1.63 billion, due to weaker fourth-quarter performance and higher costs.
Revenue for the year rose 25% to €13.95 billion, roughly in line with expectations. Average fares declined 7% year-on-year, while traffic grew 9% to 200.2 million passengers.
The load factor held at 94%. Ancillary revenue per passenger increased 1%, ahead of consensus but below some analyst forecasts.
The fourth quarter was weaker. Ryanair posted a net loss of €328 million for the period, with revenue up 5.9% to €2.3 billion.
Scheduled revenue rose 3.2% while ancillary revenue grew 10%. Average fares fell 4.6%, while operating expenses climbed 11.2% to €2.79 billion. Fuel costs rose 3.7% to €1.14 billion. Ex-fuel costs per passenger were up 8.2%.
Despite the year-on-year decline in profit, Ryanair’s outlook for the current year boosted market confidence.
The airline said average fares for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 are expected to rise by a mid-to-high teen percentage, ahead of the Visible Alpha consensus of 7.1%, due to favorable Easter timing and soft prior-year comparisons.
Second-quarter fares are also expected to grow, recovering much of the 7% decline seen in the same quarter last year.
Ryanair maintained its full-year traffic target of 206 million passengers, unchanged from previous guidance, citing continued delays in Boeing (NYSE:BA) deliveries. The carrier expects 29 new Gamechanger aircraft to arrive ahead of summer 2026 and its first Boeing MAX-10 aircraft by spring 2027.
Unit cost inflation is expected to be “modest” in fiscal 2026, driven by air traffic control fees, emissions costs, and route expansion.
RBC Capital Markets projects a 3% increase in ex-fuel unit costs, while Ryanair expects overall unit costs to fall by 1%, close to the market consensus of a 0.4% decline.
Ryanair is 84% hedged on fuel for fiscal 2026 at $76 per barrel, compared with 78% hedged at $79 per barrel last year. For fiscal 2027, the airline is 36% hedged at $66 per barrel.
The company declared a final dividend of €0.227 per share and announced a €750 million share buyback to be completed over the next 6 to 12 months, exceeding consensus expectations of €422 million.
Ryanair ended the year with €1.3 billion in net cash, up from €75 million in the previous quarter. Full-year operating cash flow rose 8.2% to €3.42 billion.