Yahoo Finance Ryanair (RYAAY) Sees Strong Bookings & Load Factor for Summer
Ryanair Holdings RYAAY is witnessing strong bookings for the summer, with load factor (percentage of seats occupied by passengers) expected to reach pre-pandemic levels at 94-95% in June-August a Reuters report stated.
RYAAY CEO Michael O'Leary told Reuters, "Bookings over the last number of weeks have continued to strengthen – both the numbers are strengthening and average fares being paid through the summer are rising." O'Leary added that bookings are especially strong to the beaches of Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece.
The European carrier expects its traffic to be more than 15 million passengers in May, up from 14.24 million in April. Load factor is expected to be 92% in May, compared with 91% in April.
Ryanair Holdings PLC Price
Ryanair Holdings PLC price | Ryanair Holdings PLC Quote
Ryanair did not raise concerns about the impact of the European Central Bank's expected rate hikes on travel demand in the near term.
Regarding worries over rising fuel costs, O'Leary said that Ryanair has "80% of its fuel needs hedged out to March of 2023 at $70 a barrel."
RYAAY recently reported its fiscal 2022 results, wherein its traffic soared more than 200% year over year to 97.1 million. Load factor in the period was 82%, reflecting an improvement of 11 percentage points from the year-ago period. The company expects fiscal 2023 traffic to be 165 million, higher than the fiscal 2022 figure, as well as 149 million registered in fiscal 2020 (pre-pandemic). It expects to return to profitability in fiscal 2023.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Ryanair carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks within the broader Transportation sector are as follows:
Golar LNG Limited GLNG flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company has a stellar earnings surprise history, having outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters and missed once, the average surprise being 49.8%. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of Golar LNG have rallied more than 97% in a year.
Star Bulk Carriers SBLK carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company's earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters and missed once, the average surprise being 7.1%.
Shares of Star Bulk have gained more than 93% in a year.
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