Budget airline Ryanair on Monday reported lower profits and predicted fares will continue to fall as a price war in Germany and Brexit uncertainty weighs on the business.
The carrier, led by Michael O’Leary, said fares in the first quarter to June dropped 6% and it expects a 6% cut in the first half.
The decrease comes amid competition in Germany, and O’Leary pointed to Brexit concerns in the UK, which “weigh negatively on consumer confidence and spending”.
The decline in average fare to €36 (£32) fuelled demand, and passenger numbers jumped 11% to 41.9 million.
First-quarter profits after tax fell 21% to €243 million.
George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Profits may be down, but that’s something of an inevitability given the headwinds of increased fuel prices and the acquisition of Laudamotion, where costs haven’t been managed as effectively. As it turns out, a 21% fall in after-tax profit is better than had been expected by many analysts.”
