Strong full-year profits expected from Ryanair

Ryanair is due to report full-year results today, with net income expected to be at the upper end of the guided range of €1.17- €1.22 billion.

Davy stockbrokers is forecasting net income of €1.43 billion

Davy said it expected yield guidance to be affected by a number of events, in particular the Brussels attacks, an early Easter, air traffic controller strikes and weak sterling.

The stockbroking firm noted that Ryanair had effectively upgraded its guidance three times during the 2016 financial year.

Ryanair’s original guidance was €940 million-€970 million, with an original passenger growth target of 10 per cent to 100 million.

In February, Ryanair raised its full-year traffic forecast to 106 million.

Davy analyst Stephen Furlong said cash generation "continues to be spectacular", with the company announcing an €800 million share buyback programme at the beginning of February, which is now almost 80 per cent complete. Ryanair has announced a number of bases, in Prague, Sofia, Vilnius, Hamburg and Nuremberg, since its last results and two new bases were opened in March in Belfast and Ibiza.

Last week, the airline launched its first Luxembourg flights, announcing new services connecting the principality with London and Porto in Portugal. In May 2015, Ryanair reported a 66 per cent surge in annual profit, as lower fuel prices drove costs down. The company said its profit after tax hit €867 million and passenger numbers increased 11 per cent to 90 million.

Revenues for the year rose by 12 per cent from €5.037 billion to €5.654 billion.

Ryanair is beginning a major push into digital with its new MyRyanair platform, which works as a personalisation engine for customers. The platform offers customers the chance to create a personal profile with the site and app, storing payment and passport details securely, and getting suggestions from travel tips to hotel suggestions.