The Irish low-cost carrier reported an 80 per cent slump in net profit for the quarter ending 31 December, after making an exceptional provision linked to a €256 million penalty issued by the Italian Competition Authority, known as AGCM. The fine was handed down in late 2025 following a two-year investigation into what the authority described as an alleged abuse of a dominant market position.
Ryanair has strongly disputed the ruling and said it considers the AGCM’s findings to be unfounded. While an appeal is ongoing, the airline confirmed it has set aside €85 million in its accounts, covering roughly one-third of the total fine.
As a result, Ryanair posted a net profit of €30 million for the quarter, down from €149 million in the same period a year earlier. The airline said that without the exceptional charge, quarterly profit would have reached €115 million, representing a 22 per cent year-on-year decline as operating costs rose by 6 per cent.
Despite the profit hit, Ryanair reported solid underlying trading performance. Passenger numbers rose by 6 per cent year-on-year to 47.5 million during the quarter, while average fares increased by 4 per cent to €44. Ancillary revenue per passenger was also up slightly, rising by 1 per cent. Overall group revenue climbed by 9 per cent to €3.21 billion.
Michael O’Leary said “strong demand” and earlier than expected deliveries of new Boeing aircraft had prompted the airline to upgrade its traffic outlook for the financial year ending 31 March. He said Ryanair now expects to carry 208 million passengers for the full year, up 4 per cent year-on-year and ahead of its previous forecast of 207 million.
O’Leary added that fares are “trending ahead of prior year” and are now expected to be around 8 to 9 per cent higher during the current financial year, exceeding earlier guidance.
He said: “This winter, we’ve allocated Ryanair’s scarce capacity to regions and airports cutting aviation taxes and incentivising traffic growth, such as Albania, Italy, Morocco, Slovakia and Sweden, by switching flights and routes away from high cost, uncompetitive markets like Austria, Belgium, Germany and regional Spain.”
The chief executive said this strategy will continue into summer 2026, with more than 106 new routes already on sale. These include the launch of three new bases in Rabat, Tirana and Trapani, as Ryanair continues to shift capacity towards lower-cost markets offering stronger growth potential.
