Ryanair suffered a net loss of €185 million between April and June due to the drop in air traffic caused by the new coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the airline announced on Monday.
“The past quarter was the most challenging in Ryanair’s 35-year history,” the airline said.
The number of passengers carried was reduced to 0.5 million in June, a 99% drop from 41.9 million in June 2019, when it made a net profit of €243 million.
“Covid-19 grounded the Group’s fleet for almost 4 months (from mid-March to end June) as EU governments imposed flight or travel bans and widespread population lockdowns,” Ryanair wrote.
The airline’s revenue collapsed to €125 million, compared to €2.312 billion a year earlier, making for a 95% drop.
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Ryanair has resumed its flights since 1 July, a crucial period with holiday departures and a month in which the company is expected to operate at 40% of its usual capacity, before climbing to 70% in September.
The company expects to carry only 60 million passengers over its entire 2020-2021 financial year (ending at the end of March), which would be a drop of 60%.
To cope with the shock of the pandemic and a demand that is expected to be low for a while, the group recently announced a restructuring plan that involves cutting 3,000 jobs, or 15% of its workforce. In Belgium, Ryanair has announced the dismissal of more than 80 people.
The airline has reached agreements with trade unions to reduce salaries, as it did in the United Kingdom and Germany, which should make it possible to limit job cuts.
The group says it has one of the strongest cash flows in the sector, at €3,9 billion, which it is preserving by reducing costs and expenses.
The airline is unable to give a target for results over the financial year, it said, adding that “a second wave of Covid-19 cases across Europe in late autumn (when the annual flu season commences) is our biggest fear right now.”
However, it expects a smaller loss in the next quarter compared to the previous quarter thanks to the recovery in traffic.
The Brussels Times
