Budget airline Ryanair reported its best annual profit ever on Monday as passenger and revenue growth offset sharply higher operating costs.
The Dublin-based company said full-year profit after tax rose 34% to 1.92 billion euros ($2.09 billion) and announced a 700 million euro share buyback program.
Revenue rose 25% year-on-year to 13.44 billion euros because the airline carried 184 million passengers, 23% greater than before the Covid pandemic.
These higher traffic figures and the rise in fares helped Ryanair overcome an increase in costs: operating costs increased by 24% in comparison with the previous yr, and the airline’s fuel bill increased by 32%.
Neil Sorahan, Ryanair’s chief financial officer, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday that the share buyback reflected a “very strong” balance sheet.
“Our priorities were above all: restoring the wages of our people after the Corona crisis, introducing wage increases and paying off the debts,” he said. “And we have paid off bonds, we now have 1.4 billion in gross cash at the end of last year, and so the board now has the confidence to actually return the 700 million in addition to the regular dividend program to shareholders.”
