Ryanair said it was considering dropping its London listing as it reported a more than doubling of first-half traffic and a substantial narrowing of losses.
Europe’s busiest airline said trading in its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) had fallen materially in the past year as a percentage of overall trading volumes.
“The migration away from the LSE is consistent with a general trend for trading in shares of EU corporates post-Brexit,” Ryanair said. “The board of Ryanair is now considering the merits of retaining the standard listing on the LSE.”
The delisting of the airline, which has a primary listing on the Euronext Dublin exchange, would be a blow to the LSE.
Net losses at Ryanair shrank to €48 million in the six months to the end of September from a €411 million loss in the same period last year when most of its planes were grounded by the pandemic. Revenue rose by more than 80 per cent to €2.15 billion, boosted by a 128 per cent jump in passenger numbers to 39.1 million after travel restrictions were lifted.
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Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, said: “There is no doubt that the remainder of the fiscal year will be challenging — the winter will be tough.”
The airline said that it would be forced to cut prices to fill its planes over the winter and expects to carry just over 100 million passengers over the 2022 financial year. This compares with 149 million before the pandemic.
Ryanair forecast an annual loss of between €100 million and €200 million as a result of price discounts and rising costs, such as higher fuel costs. The airline said that fuel was 80 per cent hedged for the fourth quarter and 60 per cent hedged for the 2023 financial year.
O’Leary predicted a strong recovery in passenger numbers and ticket prices into next summer, with passenger load levels of more than 90 per cent. In the first half airlines were 79 per cent full, up from 72 per cent last year, and that had risen to more than 80 per cent.
He expects to benefit from the introduction of a fleet of Boeing 737 Max planes. Delivery of the aircraft had been delayed by two fatal crashes that led to the model being grounded for about two years.
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O’Leary said that the planes had 4 per cent more seats, used 16 per cent less fuel, cut noise emissions by 40 per cent and would help accelerate the carrier’s traffic growth to 225 million passengers a year by 2026.
Shares in Ryanair rose 1.6 per cent, or 27 cents, to €17.02 this morning.
