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High oil prices hit Ryanair profits hard

Ryanair - High oil prices and recession blamed for drop
Ryanair - High oil prices and recession blamed for drop

High petrol prices and fears of a global recession are being blamed for Ryanair's 27% drop in net profits at the end of last year.

The low-cost airline warned poor market conditions meant profits may continue to fall in its next fiscal year.

Its underlying net profit between October and December fell to €35m from €48m the same time the previous year as average winter fares fell almost 5%.

The net profit figure excludes a one-off gain of €12.1m from the sale of five Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

'With oil prices at $90 a barrel and fear of recession in the UK and many other European economies, the current outlook for the coming fiscal year is poor,' Ryanair said. 'There is now a significant chance that profits may decline next year,' it added.