Ryanair to be debt free by March

RYANAIR is generating so much cash that it is on course to be totally debt free by the end of March — clearing €709 million of debt in 12 months.

On the back of a strong set of second-quarter and half-year figures published yesterday, the airline said that after-tax profit for the 12 months to the end of next March should now come in at €440m; €40m — or 10% — more than previously anticipated. The airline made an after-tax profit of €401m in its last full-year. Ryanair’s deputy chief executive and chief operating officer, Michael Cawley, added that if growth continues, the company should be on course to become totally debt free by the end of its current financial year. Since last March, Ryanair has lowered its net debt levels from €709m to €372m.

Yesterday’s figures showed a year-on-year increase of 24% in half-year revenues to €2.71 billion, and 20% increases in adjusted after-tax profits (to €543.5m) and adjusted basic earnings per share (to 36.62c). Pre-tax profits, for the six months to the end of September, were up from €482.5m to just under €620m.