Ryanair Holdings share price up, boosts full-year profit projection aided by European economic slowdown

Ryanair Holdings changed its full-year profit goal for the second time in 2014, saying that it now expects annual net income to be in the range of €750 million and €770 million ($936 million to $961 million). This projection exceeded Ryanairs previous forecast by at least €100 million. Earlier in 2014 the company made a profit forecast of between €620 million and €650 million.

The company also shared that its net profit over the second financial quarter increased by 14%. Ryanair revealed that its after-tax-profit increased to €598.2 million ($749 million) as sales jumped by 6.75% to €2 billion.

The Chief Executive Officer of Ryanair – Mr. Michael OLeary said in a statement: “We are pleased to report this significant increase in H1 profits. While partially due to the presence of Easter in Q1 and a weak prior year comparable, we have also enjoyed a strong summer thanks to our strategy of raising forward bookings and improving our customer experience, which has delivered higher load factors and yields.”

Mr. OLeary has been focused on bringing the company back to annual profit growth. He shared that the slowing economy in Europe will press the demand for discounts, which could be beneficial for the company. Ryanairs chief executive revealed that he has been “pleasantly” surprised by the fact that the companys products have been well-accepted.

As reported by Bloomberg, Mr. OLeary added in a telephone interview: “I always have concerns about the European economy, but customers are getting more and more price sensitive and are switching to Ryanair even more. The outlook is very strong.”

Ryanair Holdings added 8.83% to trade at €8.27 per share at 12:35 GMT, marking a one-year change of +35.57%. The company is valued at €10.52 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 22 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Ryanair Holdings have a median target of €8.50, with a high estimate of €9.90 and a low estimate of €7.20. The median estimate represents a 11.86% increase from the previous close of €7.60.