Ryanair's half year profit falls 15% as fuel costs rise

Updated / Monday, 2 Nov 2026 09:04

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Ryanair is reviewing all its costs due to higher fuel prices and may require staff to take temporary pay freezes, the low-cost airline said today after reporting a 15% decline in net profit for the six months to the end of September.

Ryanair is Europe's largest airline in terms of passenger numbers.

It said that while it expects short-haul airfares to rise materially next year, that is unlikely to fully offset an estimated €2 billion increase in its fuel bill for the financial year that ends in March 2028, based on current forward prices.

"Unless there is a swift resolution of the Middle East conflict, we expect jet fuel prices to remain elevated well into 2027," group chief executive Michael O'Leary said in a statement.

Mr O'Leary added that negotiations with airports, lower crewing ratios and increased use of AI in back-office operations could also yield cost savings.

Ryanair said its average fares fell by 4% year-on-year in the the first half of it fiscal year to €55.70 from €58 and are trending modestly ahead of the same period a year earlier in the current quarter.

One of Europe's best-hedged airlines, Ryanair said its fuel needs up to March 2027 remained 80% hedged at $67 a barrel, while it nudged up its hedges for the following 12 months to 25% at $95 a barrel compared with 15% at an average of $85 at the end of June.

Ryanair reported an after-tax profit of €2.15 billion for the six month period, down 15% from the €2.54 billion reported the same time last year.

But its revenues for the six months rose by 3% to €10.08 billion from €9.82 billion the same time last year,while its passengers numbers increased by 6% to 125.8 million from 119 million.

The airline also reported an after-tax profit of €1.61 billion for its fiscal second quarter, when it typically makes most of its profit, due to it capturing most of the northern hemisphere's busy summer holiday season.

That was in line with a company poll of analysts.

Michael O'Leary said it was too early to provide full-year profit guidance, which remains "highly sensitive to conflict escalation in the Middle East and Ukraine," fuel prices, macroeconomic shocks and European air traffic control strikes.

Ryanair said demand in its current third quarter is strong with fares trending modestly ahead of the same time a year ago, following a 2% year-on-year decline in the three months to the end of September.

Cautious travellers continue to book close to departure dates, meaning fares for the rest of the quarter will heavily depend on the strength of late bookings up to Christmas, it said.

Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan said he expected demand to remain strong next year and that "an extra €5 or €10 (on a Ryanair airfare) won't necessarily dampen people's willingness to travel."

He added that this week's US midterm elections and peace talks aimed at ending the US-Israeli war on Iran might open up opportunities for more fuel hedging with oil prices nearing a one-week low.