Ryanair celebrates at the Dublin Stock Exchange. First-quarter results beat expectations.

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Ryanair soared on the Dublin Stock Exchange, boosted by its first-quarter profit for the 2025 financial year , which more than doubled and exceeded analysts' expectations , combined with management's cautious optimism regarding the full-year outlook. The Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, holds a top spot among the Stoxx Europe 600 index. Ryanair's net profit more than doubled in the April-June quarter, thanks to the Easter holidays and better-than-expected last-minute fares (for the airline), reaching €820 million from €360 million in the same period last year. Analysts had expected a profit of €716 million, according to a consensus prepared by the group. Revenue increased 20% to €4.34 billion, reflecting a 26% increase in ticket revenue to €2.94 billion, with a 4% increase in passengers to 57.9 million and a 21% increase in average fares. Additional services (baggage, etc.) also delivered a "solid performance," with revenues of €1.39 billion (+7%). "First-quarter fares benefited significantly from the Easter holidays in April, weak like-for-like figures from the previous year, and slightly higher-than-expected last-minute pricing," CEO Michael O'Leary said in a statement.

"Demand is strong, although fare increases in the second quarter will be lower than in the first," favored by the Easter calendar, the CEO added. "It is too early to provide meaningful guidance for fiscal 2026. In any case, we cautiously expect to recover almost entirely the 7% fare decline recorded last year, which should lead to reasonable net profit growth for the fiscal year," which ends March 31, O'Leary then stated. However, he concluded, " the final outcome of the year remains heavily exposed to adverse external developments , including the risk of trade wars, macroeconomic shocks, an escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, air traffic controller strikes in Europe, and staff shortages."

Ryanair's Chief Financial Officer, Neil Sorahan, also expressed optimism about the outcome of negotiations between the US and Europe regarding the commercial aviation sector, which, according to statements made by US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy in June, is not expected to be affected by tariffs. However, the recent US threat to impose 30% tariffs on the European Union remains. Finally, Ryanair indicated that bookings for the rest of the summer are strong. Ryanair's fares and net profit are recovering faster than expected, and the airline's first-quarter results beat forecasts, commented analysts at Peel Hunt , who expect a reallocation of slots to Turkey, Morocco, and the Spanish Canary Islands. Ryanair's expectations for the 2026 financial year are cautious, according to experts at RBC Europe , who also note that the Irish carrier now expects to recover almost all of last year's 7% fare decline, compared to the previous forecast that predicted it would recover most of the decline. The company continues to expect modest unit cost inflation in fiscal 2026, after deducting savings from fuel hedging, and continues to offer a low-cost, high-margin business model, they added to RBC Europe.