Ryanair Holdings Extends Buyback Program; Swung to 3Q Pretax Profit

By Anthony O. Goriainoff

Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYA.LN) said Monday that it was extending its buyback program to the end of July as it reported a swing to net profit for the third quarter of fiscal 2020.

The low-cost airline said that for the three months ended Dec. 31 net profit was 87.8 million euros ($97.4 million) compared with a loss of EUR66.1 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

Revenue was EUR1.91 billion compared with EUR1.58 billion last year.

Ryanair said its EUR700 million buyback program was being extended to July due to the uncertainty surrounding delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX. The program was due to end in May.

The airline said that group airline Lauda continued to underperform due to strong competition from Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) subsidiaries in Austria and Germany, and that management is implementing a new cost-cutting plan.

Ryanair said it sees its profit after tax for the year close to the mid-point of guidance.

In January the airline said it expected profit after tax for its fiscal year ending March 31 to be in the range of EUR950 million to EUR1.05 billion.

Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 03, 2020 01:39 ET (06:39 GMT)

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