Ryanair hits Brexit headwind as profit forecast cut

Irish no-frills airline Ryanair cut today its full-year net profit forecast by five per cent owing to the pound's slump since Britain voted in June to exit the EU.

"The primary cause of this slightly lower growth in full year profitability is the 18 percent fall of sterling post Brexit which will reduce second half average fares," the Dublin-based airline said in a statement.

The pound's tumble is reducing the amount Ryanair earns from its key British market once the currency is converted into euros - the unit of Ireland and which Ryanair uses to price its earnings.

Ryanair said it was cutting its 2016/17 net profit forecast by five per cent to between 1.3 billion euros and 1.35 billion euros (USD 1.4 billion and USD 1.5 billion). Its financial year runs to the end of March.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary added in the statement that "stronger traffic growth and better cost control" would contribute to offsetting the hit in revenues, adding that the British market represents about one-quarter of the group's total income.

The pound has tumbled to 7.5-year lows against the euro and 31-year troughs versus the dollar since Britain voted June 23 in favour of leaving the European Union as markets price in future economic uncertainty.

The office of British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday sought to downplay cabinet tensions over Brexit after reports her finance minister is antagonising colleagues with his warnings about the economic dangers.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has reportedly been pushing to delay measures designed to control immigration, which would likely be viewed by EU leaders as incompatible with continued membership of the single market.

O'Leary has meanwhile previously said that Brexit uncertainty would more than halve Ryanair's UK growth.