Ryanair bounces back with an annual profit of £1.24 billion

The Dublin-based carrier's profit haul for the 12 months to March 31 compares with a net loss of £309 million the previous year and comes after a 74 per cent surge in passengers to 168.6 million.

The airliner, which has many routes from Birmingham Airport including Dublin, Verona and Lanzarote, said air fares jumped 50 per cent on levels seen a year earlier, to an average of £36.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary flagged cost pressures over the year ahead, with the company's fuel bill expected to surge by more than £869 million due to higher oil prices.

The airliner also noted that it endured a “disappointing” first quarter when traffic was “badly impacted” by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, strong travel demand through the remainder of the year saw traffic rise significantly, with fares up 10 per cent on pre-Covid levels.

Ryanair hopes to grow traffic about 10 per cent to about 185 million passengers in the coming year, although it said Boeing’s recent delivery delays may reduce this target slightly.

Most notable gains in flight numbers were recorded in Italy, Poland and Ireland.

Its European short-haul capacity remains below pre-Covid levels this summer, but it added demand is “notably robust”. Forward bookings and air fares this summer were described as “strong”.

Mr O’Leary said the airline will aim to grow traffic to 225 million passengers by 2026 and 300 million by 2034.

In that context, it will also aim to create over 10,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew, and engineers. Over the past year, it has recruited and trained over 3,000 new crew members, including 1,000 pilot cadets.

He said he was "cautiously optimistic" the airline can grow profits modestly over the year ahead as he expects the ongoing recovery in travel and higher fares to help offset the fuel bill hit.

Mr O'Leary added: "We are cautiously optimistic that full year 2024 revenue will grow sufficiently to cover our higher fuel bill and still deliver a modest year-on-year profit increase.

“This guidance remains heavily dependent upon avoiding adverse events during the year such as the war in Ukraine or further, repeated, Boeing delivery delays.”

The positive news for Ryanair comes days after rival budget carrier EasyJet announced it was creating around 100 jobs by setting up a new permanent base at Birmingham Airport.

It will base three aircraft at the airport from March next year which will allow it to expand its range of flights from the city.