RYANAIR REPORTS H1 LOSS OF €48M AS TRAFFIC REBOUNDS AT LOWER FARES

Ryanair Holdings today (1 Nov.) reported a H1 loss of €48m, compared to a PY H1 loss of €411m. Highlights of this 6-month period include:

  • H1 traffic rebounded by 128% from 17.1m to 39.1m.
  • 1st B737-8200 "Gamechanger" delivered in June (65+ for peak S.22).
  • Customer Advisory Panel 1st met in Sept.
  • €1.2bn 5-year unsecured bond issued in May at record low 0.875% coupon.
  • Strong Sept. cash balance of €4.24bn (up from €3.15bn at 31 Mar.).
  • Net debt fell from €2.28bn at 31 Mar. to €1.50bn at 30 Sept. (CCFF £600m loan repaid in Oct).
  • 560 new routes & 14 new bases announced for W.21/S.22.
  • 5-yeargrowth accelerates to 225m p.a. by FY26 (prev. 200m p.a.).

H1 - Group

30 Sept. 2020

30 Sept. 2021

Change

Customers

17.1m

39.1m

+128%

Load Factor

72%

79%

+7pts

Revenue

€1.18bn

€2.15bn

+83%

Op. Costs

€1.35bn

€2.20bn

+63%

Net Loss

(€411m)

(€48m)

n/m

Ryanair's Michael O'Leary, said:

OUR ENVIRONMENT:

Ryanair has shown we can grow traffic while reducing our impact on the environment. Every passenger that switches to Ryanair from legacy airlines reduces their CO₂ emissions by up to 50% per flight. Over the next 5-years our traffic will grow by 50% to 225m p.a. This will be achieved on a fleet of new B737 "Gamechanger" aircraft, which offer 4% more seats, but consume 16% less fuel and cuts noise emissions by 40%, which helps to lower each passenger's CO₂ and noise footprint over the next decade.

We continue to work with the EU, our fuel suppliers and aircraft manufacturers to incentivise sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use. We are working with A4E and the EU Commission to accelerate reform of the Single European Sky, to minimise ATC delays which will lower fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. Last year Ryanair received an industry leading "B-" climate protection rating from CDP1, and we are committed to improving this to an "A" rating over the next 2 years. In April, we established a Sustainable Aviation Research Centre partnership with Trinity College Dublin to accelerate the development of SAFs. Ryanair's goal is to power 12.5% of our flights with SAF by 2030. These initiatives will help Ryanair achieve our target of cutting CO₂ per passenger/km by 10% to just 60 grams by 2030.

Our growth plans over the next 5 years will create 5,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers. Ryanair recently invested €50m in an Aviation Skills Training Centre in Dublin and we plan to invest over €100m in 2 more, high skills, training centres in possibly Spain and Poland during this period.

In Sept. our Customer Advisory Panel met for the first time in Dublin. This Panel will meet again in the spring and their advice and input will shape Ryanair's customer improvements for 2022, reinforcing our commitment to delivering the lowest fares, the most on-time flights and a great customer service as the Group stimulates very strong post Covid-19 growth. We have already implemented a number of their suggestions, including a Day of Travel feature in the Ryanair App to assist customers through every step of their Ryanair journey.

COVID-19 - RAPID RECOVERY & GROWTH:

Following a very badly disrupted Q1, which saw most Easter flights cancelled and a slower than expected easing of EU Govt. travel restrictions in May and June, traffic rebounded in Q2 with the successful rollout of the EU Digital Covid Certificates ("DCC") in July. H1 bookings were mostly "close-in" and required price stimulation, particularly to/from the UK where consumer confidence was undermined (until early Oct.), by the UK Govt.'s confusing and inconsistent traffic light system. In recent weeks, we have seen a surge in bookings for the Oct. mid-term and Christmas breaks and we expect this peak buoyancy to continue into Easter and

1 CDP - Carbon Disclosure Project is an independent, non-profit, global environmental reporting organisation.

S.22. We will continue our load active/yield passive recovery strategy as we rebuild load factors (consistently above 80% in Q2) and, in time, yields over the second half of FY22.

The Covid-19 crisis accelerated the collapse of many European airlines including Flybe, Norwegian, Germanwings, Level, Stobart and led to substantial capacity cuts at many others including Alitalia, TAP, LOT, SAS, etc. The tsunami of State Aid from EU Govts. to their insolvent flag carriers (Alitalia, Air France/KLM, Iberia, LOT, Lufthansa, SAS, TAP and others) will distort EU competition and prop up high cost, inefficient, flag carriers for many years. Ryanair was one of the very few airlines to use the Covid crisis to place significant aircraft orders, to expand our airport partnerships and to secure lower operating costs so that we can pass on even lower fares, post Covid, to our customers. Together with our airport partners, we are leading Europe's traffic recovery and we plan to deliver accelerated growth in both traffic and jobs over the next 5 years.

During H1 our Route Development team continued their work with airport partners across Europe, and have negotiated lower airport costs, recovery incentives and the extension of many low-cost airport growth deals. In addition to its new base deals (Agadir, Billund, Chania, Corfu, Rhodes, Riga, Stockholm, Venice Treviso, Turin, Zadar & Zagreb), over 560 new route announcements and long-term extensions of low-cost growth deals in Stansted (to 2028), Bergamo (to 2028), Manchester (to 2028), East Midlands (to 2028), Charleroi (to 2030), the Group has doubled its capacity in Rome (Fiumicino), Lisbon, Vienna and will launch new bases in Cork, Newcastle and Venice (Marco-Polo) for S.22.

In June Ryanair took delivery of our first B737-8200 "Gamechanger" aircraft (from our 210 orderbook) and we expect to have over 65 in the Group fleet by S.22. These Gamechangers will, we believe, further widen the cost gap between Ryanair and all other European airlines over the next decade. While load factors have yet to recover to pre-Covid levels, the performance of the Gamechangers has exceeded our expectations this summer. Operational reliability, fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions have, so far, exceeded guidelines with very positive passenger and crew feedback to these new, more fuel efficient, quieter aircraft. Based on our 210 order book and available fleet capacity, we plan to accelerate our traffic growth to 225m p.a. by FY26.

H1 FY22 BUSINESS REVIEW:

Revenue & Costs

H1 scheduled revenues increased 61% to €1.27bn as traffic jumped 128% from 17.1m to 39.1m (at a 79% load factor). The Covid disruption of Easter traffic, the delayed relaxation of EU travel restrictions into May/June, and the uncertainty caused by the UK's confusing traffic light system this summer and the close-in nature of bookings required price stimulation - resulting in average fares of just €33 (down 30% on H1 last year). Ancillary revenue continued its strong performance, generating over €22.50 per passenger, as guests choose priority boarding and reserved seating. Total revenue increased by over 80% to €2.15bn in H1.

While sectors and traffic more than doubled, operating costs increased by just 63% to €2.20bn, driven primarily by lower variable costs such as aircraft, airport & handling, route charges and fuel. Lower costs, coupled with rising load factors, led to a marked reduction in cost per passenger (ex-fuel) to €38. We expect to see further improvements in costs as our new, lower cost, more fuel-efficient aircraft deliver and EU countries (such as Ireland, Spain & Italy) rollout Covid recovery incentive schemes.

Our fuel requirements are 80% hedged for Q4 FY22 (50% jet swaps at $580, with the balance hedged with caps at $750 per met. tonne). H1 FY23 is 80% hedged (60% jet swaps at $620 and 20% caps at $715) and H2 FY23 is 60% hedged at $625. Carbon credits are fully hedged for FY22 and 70% hedged for FY23 at €24 and €40 per EUA respectively.

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Ryanair's balance sheet is one of the strongest in the industry with a BBB credit rating (S&P and Fitch), €4.24bn cash and almost 90% of our B737 fleet unencumbered. In May Ryanair issued a €1.2bn 5-year, unsecured, bond at a record low coupon of just 0.875%. In June the Group repaid its (2014) maturing €850m 1.875% bond and last week the Group repaid its UK CCFF £600m loan 5 months early. Strong operating cashflows and supplier reimbursements, offset by capex, drove a €0.8bn reduction in net debt to €1.5bn at 30 Sept. (31 March: €2.3bn). During Q2 the Group agreed to sell its 10 oldest B737NGs. 2 of these aircraft were delivered in Sept. and the remainder will exit the fleet before the financial year end. The strength of Ryanair's

balance sheet ensures that the Group can capitalise rapidly on the many growth opportunities that exist in Europe in the post Covid-19 recovery.

POTENTIAL LSE DELISTING:

Trading on the London Stock Exchange ("LSE") as a percentage of overall trading volume in Ryanair's ordinary shares has reduced materially during 2021. The migration away from the LSE is consistent with a general trend for trading in shares of EU corporates post Brexit and is, potentially, more acute for Ryanair as a result of the long-standing prohibition on non-EU citizens purchasing Ryanair's ordinary shares being extended to UK nationals following Brexit. The Board of Ryanair is now considering the merits of retaining the Standard listing on the LSE. Ryanair has a primary listing on the regulated market of Euronext Dublin, which offers shareholders the highest standard of protection, including compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code, and its ADRs are listed on NASDAQ.

OUTLOOK:

The outlook for pricing and yields for the winter of FY22 will be challenging. With the booking curve remaining very close-in, traffic recovery will require continuing price stimulation. This, coupled with rising costs for the small unhedged balance of our fuel needs, means that visibility for the remainder of FY22 is very limited. It is therefore difficult to provide meaningful FY22 guidance. We believe that FY22 traffic has improved to just over 100m and (subject to winter fares) expect to record an FY22 loss of between €100m to €200m. This outturn will be crucially dependent on the continued rollout of vaccines and no adverse Covid- 19 developments.

ACCELERATED POST-COVID GROWTH:

As noted above, subject to no adverse Covid developments, and high vaccination levels remaining across Europe, Ryanair will take delivery of 210 Gamechanger aircraft over the next 5 years which allows Ryanair uniquely to accelerate growth into the post Covid-19 recovery. These aircraft deliver industry lowest costs, lower emissions, and will enable Ryanair to exploit growth opportunities at primary and secondary airports all over Europe - particularly where legacy carriers have failed or cut back their fleet as a result of Covid-19 and State Aid. As announced at our AGM in Sept., Ryanair Group now expect to deliver accelerated growth over the next 5 years, with the growth forecast raised from 33% to 50%. As a result, Ryanair's pre-Covid traffic of 149m is expected to grow to over 225m guests p.a. by March 2026 (previously targeted at 200m p.a.)."

ENDS

For further information

Neil Sorahan

Piaras Kelly

please contact:

Ryanair Holdings plc

Edelman

www.ryanair.com

Tel: +353-1-9451212

Tel: +353-1-6789333

Ryanair Holdings plc, Europe's largest airline group, is the parent company of Buzz, Lauda, Malta Air & Ryanair. Carrying 149m guests p.a. (pre Covid-19) on more than 2,500 daily flights from over 89 bases, the Group connects over 230 destinations in 37 countries on a fleet of 467 aircraft, with a further 190 Boeing 737s on order, which will enable the Ryanair Group to lower fares and grow traffic to 225m p.a. over the next 5 years. Ryanair has a team of 17,000 highly skilled aviation professionals delivering Europe's No.1 on-time performance, and an industry leading 36-year safety record. Ryanair is Europe's greenest, cleanest, airline group and customers switching to fly Ryanair can reduce their CO₂ emissions by up to 50% compared to the other Big 4 European major airlines.

Certain of the information included in this release is forward looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. It is not reasonably possible to itemise all of the many factors and specific events that could affect the outlook and results of an airline operating in the European economy. Among the factors that are subject to change and could significantly impact Ryanair's expected results are the airline pricing environment, fuel costs, competition from new and existing carriers, market prices for the replacement of aircraft, costs associated with environmental, safety and security measures, actions of the Irish, U.K., European Union ("EU") and other governments and their respective regulatory agencies, post-Brexit uncertainties, weather related disruptions, ATC strikes and staffing related disruptions, delays in the delivery of contracted aircraft, fluctuations in currency exchange rates and interest rates, airport access and charges, labour relations, the economic environment of the airline industry, the general economic environment in Ireland, the UK and Continental Europe, the general willingness of passengers to travel and other economics, social and political factors, global pandemics such as Covid-19 and unforeseen security events.

Ryanair Holdings plc and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Interim Balance Sheet as at September 30, 2021 (unaudited)

At Sep 30,

At Mar 31,

2021

2021

Non-current assets

Note

€M

€M

10

8,489.9

8,361.1

Property, plant and equipment

Right-of-use asset

160.8

188.2

Intangible assets

146.4

146.4

Derivative financial instruments

11

214.3

111.3

Deferred tax

13.2

14.0

Other assets

52.8

48.7

Total non-current assets

9,077.4

8,869.7

Current assets

3.6

3.6

Inventories

Other assets

283.7

179.8

Assets Held for sale

10

82.1

-

Trade receivables

11

39.7

18.6

Derivative financial instruments

11

342.1

106.0

Restricted cash

22.7

34.1

Financial assets: cash > 3 months

100.0

465.5

Cash and cash equivalents

4,118.2

2,650.7

Total current assets

4,992.1

3,458.3

Total assets

14,069.5

12,328.0

Current liabilities

-

10.3

Provisions

Trade payables

11

788.5

336.0

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

1,947.1

1,274.9

Current lease liability

55.1

52.5

Current maturities of debt

11

858.5

1,725.9

Derivative financial instruments

11

28.1

79.2

Current tax

53.9

48.1

Total current liabilities

3,731.2

3,526.9

Non-current liabilities

67.4

47.4

Provisions

Trade payables

11

240.7

179.9

Derivative financial instruments

11

4.1

6.4

Deferred tax

263.0

272.4

Non-current lease liability

103.5

130.6

Non-current maturities of debt

11

4,726.7

3,517.8

Total non-current liabilities

5,405.4

4,154.5

Shareholders' equity

12

6.7

6.7

Issued share capital

Share premium account

12

1,166.0

1,161.6

Other undenominated capital

12

3.5

3.5

Retained earnings

12

3,185.6

3,232.3

Other reserves

571.1

242.5

Shareholders' equity

4,932.9

4,646.6

Total liabilities and shareholders' equity

14,069.5

12,328.0

1

Ryanair Holdings plc and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Interim Income Statement for the Half-Year ended September 30, 2021 (unaudited)

Half-Year

Half-Year

Ended

Ended

Sep 30,

Sep 30,

Change

2021

2020

Operating revenues

Note

%

€M

€M

1,273.3

790.8

Scheduled revenues

+61%

Ancillary revenues

+129%

881.6

385.4

Total operating revenues

8

+83%

2,154.9

1,176.2

Operating expenses

713.1

343.0

Fuel and oil

-108%

Airport and handling charges

-99%

336.9

169.7

Depreciation

-13%

336.2

296.5

Staff costs

-29%

303.1

234.7

Route charges

-99%

230.0

115.3

Marketing, distribution and other

-58%

168.3

106.4

Maintenance, materials and repairs

-43%

117.8

82.6

Aircraft rentals

-

4.8

Total operating expenses

-63%

2,205.4

1,353.0

Operating (loss)

(50.5)

(176.8)

Other income/(expenses)

(44.7)

(15.3)

Net finance expense

-192%

Foreign exchange/hedge ineffectiveness

+98%

(4.7)

(240.2)

Total other (expenses)

+81%

(49.4)

(255.5)

(Loss) before tax

(99.9)

(432.3)

Tax credit on (loss)

4

52.3

21.8

(Loss) for the half-year - all attributable to equity holders of parent

(47.6)

(410.5)

(Loss) per ordinary share (€)

9

+89%

(0.0422)

(0.3752)

Basic

Diluted

9

+89%

(0.0422)

(0.3752)

Weighted avg. no. of ord. shares (in Ms)

9

1,128.4

1,094.0

Basic

Diluted

9

1,128.4

1,094.0

*'+' is favourable and '-' is adverse period-on-period.

2

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Disclaimer

Ryanair Holdings plc published this content on 01 November 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 02 November 2021 08:28:00 UTC.