Ryanair forecasts lower profit after record year

Ryanair on Monday warned that profit would weaken this year owing to recession in Europe and high oil prices, after the Irish no-frills airline unveiled record earnings thanks to higher revenues. After announcing a 25-percent jump in annual net profit, Ryanair said "recession, austerity, currency concerns and lower fares (in some countries) ... will make it difficult to repeat this year's record results. "We expect that any increase in fares (elsewhere) will only partially offset higher fuel costs," it added in an earnings statement. Ryanair on Monday said its profit after tax reached 503 million euros ($643 million) in the 12 months to March 31, up by a quarter compared with its previous financial year, despite a surge in fuel costs. It added that net profit during Ryanair's latest financial year would likely fall to between 400 million and 440 million euros. The outlook sent Ryanair's share price tumbling 6.47 percent to 3.78 euros in early deals. Ryanair on Monday added that revenues increased by 19 percent to 4.33 billion euros in 2011-12, while the number of passengers grew 5.0 percent to almost 76 million. Average fares climbed 16 percent, while fuel costs soared 30 percent over the reporting period. "This 25 percent profit increase to a new record of 503 million euros and five percent traffic growth during a year of higher oil prices, and deep recession in Europe was a commendable result," Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said in the statement. The airline said it expected Ryanair traffic to grow by another five percent to just over 79 million passengers in 2012-13.