10th Mar 2020 13:05
(Alliance News) - Budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC on Tuesday lowered its annual passenger targets due to the suspension of all flights to and from Italy.
Dublin-based Ryanair had previously guided for passenger numbers of 154 million in its financial year ending this month, but this has been cut to 151 million passengers. In financial 2019, passenger numbers were 139.1 million.
All of Ryanair's flights to and from Italy between Friday this week and April 8 have been cancelled, after the Italian government put the country into lock down.
Italy has become a global epicentre for the spread of Covid-19. Over 450 people have now died in Italy. Other airlines have also been cancelling all of their flights to Italy. Flights from other EU countries to Italy have also been limited.
Ryanair does not expect the reduced passenger guidance to affect guidance for post-tax profit. It guided in February for a figure of between EUR950 million and EUR1.05 billion for its soon-to-end financial year. For the financial year that ended March 31, 2019, Ryanair reported profit after tax of EUR1.02 billion on revenue of EUR7.56 billion.
"It is far too early to assess the impact of Covid-19 on financial 2021 traffic and earnings. The Ryanair group will continue to focus on delivering cost savings and improved operational efficiency in financial 2021.
"Ryanair is one of the strongest airlines in the industry with EUR4 billion in cash, industry leading unit costs, 90% of the fleet is owned with over 70% debt free," said Ryanair.
Shares were 6.5% higher on Tuesday afternoon in London at a price of EUR11.77 each, but they have lost 21% so far in 2020.
By George Collard; [email protected]
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