Ryanair Profits For Last Fiscal Year Down 8%

Despite a rise in revenue, Ryanair's profits for the last fiscal year have shrunk. The airline blames escalating fuel costs and decreased fares for the results. They company reported profit after tax was €523 million for the year, down from €569 million in the year to 31 March 2013. This was "disappointing", Ryanair said.    Revenue rose by 3% during the 12-month period on the back of a strong rise of 17% in ancillary revenue, and passengers were also 3% higher, at almost 82 million. But fares were down 4% over the year, prompting the airline to act in the second half of the year to present a new image to customers and reduce fares to lure customers back to Ryanair routes.   The company has opened four new bases in Athens, Brussels, Lisbon and Rome, and revealed plans for three new bases in Cologne, Gdansk and Warsaw to cover the winter 2014 period.   It expects traffic for the upcoming fiscal year to grow by 4% and load factors to rise 2% to 85%, with a “significant” rise in after-tax profits to a range of between €580 million to €620 million.   Ryanair said it would return a further €500 million to shareholders in the fourth quarter through a special dividend subject to AGM-approval.   In London, Ryanair stock is gaining €0.30 or 4.69%, and trading at €6.65.