Results round-up

Low-cost carrier Ryanair reported a jump in full-year profit but cautioned that profit growth for this year is likely to be modest.

For the year to the end of March 2016, net profit rose 43% to €1.24bn on revenue of €6.5bn, up from €5.7bn the year before.

Traffic was up 18% to 106.4m and unit costs fell 6%, or 2% ex-fuel.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “FY16 was a year in which we delivered significant traffic and profit growth in all four quarters (despite an average oil price of $90bbl as a consequence of hedges put in place in 2014) as our AGB service programme is attracting millions of new customers to our lowest fare/lowest cost model.”

Ryanair said it expects average fares to decline by approximately 7% this year; fares are seen dropping by 5% to 7% in the first half and 10% to 12% in the second.

The Dublin-based group said it cautiously expects full-year net profit to rise modestly, by around 13% in the year to March 2017, to a range of €1.38bn to €1.43bn. This guidance remains heavily dependent on the strength of close-in summer bookings and next winter's yields, the strength of sterling and the absence of any further external shocks or significant ATC strikes/cancellations, the company said.

Ryanair said fourth-quarter yields on close-in Easter bookings took a hit from over 500 flight cancellations following the Brussels terrorist attacks and repeated – mainly French – ATC strikes.

In recent weeks Italian, Greek, Belgian and French ATC unions have also engaged in strikes, causing a further 200 plus cancellations, the company said.

It expects first-quarter yields to be affected by these cancellations, lower fares, the absence of Easter in April and sterling weakness in the run-up to the Brexit referendum on 23 June.

Outsourcing company Mitie Group reported a marginal rise in operating profit before other items for the year on Monday, to £128.9m from £128.6m, generating a margin of 5.8% - up from 5.7%.

The FTSE 250 firm said in the year to 31 March, total operating profit grew 100.9% to £112.5m, with basic earnings per share growth of 119.6%.

During the year, its cash conversion rate was 75.2%, down from 126.%, with net debt broadly flat at £178.3m or 1.2x EBITDA.

The company’s board declared a 3.4% rise in the dividend to 12.1p per share.

"Mitie has had a good year, with strong margins and profits,” said chief executive Ruby McGregor-Smith.

“I am delighted that the dividend is increasing for the 27th consecutive year.”

The board said performance in the facilities management division was strong, accounting for 84% of group revenues with an operating profit margin of 6.3%.

Its revenue growth during the year was impacted by lower discretionary and project spend, it added, as well as some delayed starts on new contracts.

Mitie assured that a recent flow of new contracts in the division will see a return to modest revenue growth in the current financial year.

Its property management business, accounting for 13% of group revenues, delivered what the board described as “good growth”, with substantial margin improvements.

Mitie’s healthcare business, bringing in 3% of group revenues, was said to be in “recovery”. "We are a pure services business with a strong position in our chosen markets. We operate long-term contracts for a blue chip client base and are well diversified across the private and public sectors,” Baroness McGregor-Smith explained.