The Irish low-cost airline, Ryanair, has reported an 18% drop in its pre-tax income level during the first half of its financial year between October 2023 and March 2024.
The company obtained in the first six months of its financial year a profit of 1,790 million euros, compared to 2,180 million euros in the previous semester.
The company reported that its operating costs increased by 8% or more than 500 million euros to 6,680 million euros. It also partially attributes the decrease to the fact that fares fell by an average of 10%, from 58 to 52 euros.
The number of passengers increased by 9% to a record 115 million, but fares fell by 15% in the first quarter and 7% in the second. Occupancy remained stable at around 95% of the passenger capacity.
The group completed a 700 million euro share repurchase program in August and is almost a third of the way through a subsequent 800 million euro repurchase, which should be completed by mid-2025.
