Ryanair: 737 MAX Grounding Will Hurt Profit

By WSJ City 

Europe's largest budget airline warned that its profit for this year would be dented by the grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX.

KEY FACTS

   -- Ryanair said profit for the financial year ended March 31 slumped to 
      EUR885m euros, despite a 7% increase in sales to EUR7.7bn. 
 
   -- Profit for the current year should be around last year's 
      figure--EUR750-950m--the Irish carrier said. 
 
   -- Ryanair said its guidance was muted by the crisis surrounding the Boeing 
      plane. 
 
   -- Ryanair faces higher-than-expected costs this year from the suspension of 
      737 MAX deliveries following recent fatal crashes. 
 
   -- Ryanair, which operates mostly older-model 737s, was due to receive its 
      first MAX planes this spring, which would have provided more seats and 
      greater fuel efficiency. 
 
   -- The airline said it has put off deliveries until at least this winter, 
      assuming regulators clear the plane to fly. 

Fallout

Ryanair said it would carry about a million fewer passengers this year because of the delayed MAX aircraft, which likely equates to about EUR37 million in lost sales. TUI and Norwegian Air, Europe's largest 737 MAX operators, have also said their profits were hit by the global grounding. Both carriers have signaled they expect Boeing to compensate them for the grounding's financial impact.

Ryanair gave Boeing a boost, though, saying it had "utmost confidence in these aircraft."

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 20, 2019 04:09 ET (08:09 GMT)

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