Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA), easyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ) and BA owner International Airlines Group are all due to post financial results next week, following an unprecedented summer of flight chaos.
After a miserable 2022 affected by pandemic restrictions, Ryanair could surprise the market after it boosted traffic levels during the first quarter.
The budget airline’s traffic levels were 109% of the volume seen in the first quarter of 2020 during the opening quarter of its new fiscal year, UBS said in a week ahead forecast.
Analysts predict it could post revenues of approximately €2.5bn for the quarter, and earnings before interest and taxes of €181ml compared to last year’s losses, even possibly upgrading its future guidance.
International Airlines has similarly benefited from improved traffic levels, amounting to a 70% sequential increase in the second quarter, UBS estimates.
Analysts forecast a sequential and year-on-year improvement in the group’s revenues to about €5.2bn compared to €3.4bn in the first quarter.
“We expect investor focus will be on forward bookings/yields, resolution of staffing/ disruption issues, capacity redeployment, cash burn rate, hedging of fuel and the financial position of the balance sheet,” UBS analysts said in a note on Friday.
Meanwhile, easyJet delivered 87% of capacity in the third quarter of its fiscal year 2022, versus pre-Covid levels, up from 67% in the second quarter.
The market consensus is that the budget airline will deliver £1.7bn of revenue for the quarter, a vast improvement on last year's equivalent turnover.