Ryanair says profit nearly halves in first quarter

LONDON

Irish no-frills airline Ryanair has said net profit almost halved in its first quarter as lower air fares offset a jump in demand.

Profit after tax dropped 46 percent to 360 million euros ($392 million) in the three months to the end of June compared with 12 months earlier, Ryanair said in a results statement yesterday.

Passenger numbers increased 10 percent to 55.5 million and average air fares dropped 15 percent, the Dublin-based carrier added.

The airline said it was impacted also by the timing of Easter this year.

Ryanair said the lower-fares environment had continued into its second quarter.

"While second-quarter demand is strong, pricing remains softer than we expected, and we now expect Q2 fares to be materially lower than last summer," chief executive Michael O'Leary said in the release.

He added that full-year traffic was expected to grow eight percent, or as much as 200 million passengers, as long as Ryanair did not face further delay to deliveries of new Boeing planes.