Sawt Falasteen - Ryanair's quarterly net profit slides on Italy fine

Profit after tax stood at 30 million euros ($36 million) in the three months to the end of December compared with 149 million euros in the period a year earlier, the Dublin-based carrier said.

The decline was driven by a provision for a fine totalling more than 255 million euros imposed by the Italian regulator, which said Ryanair abused its dominant position to block travel agencies' access to its services.

Ryanair confirmed Monday that it had appealed the fine, calling it "baseless".

Revenue in the quarter rose nine percent to 3.2 billion euros.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary said full-year net profit could reach as much as 2.23 billion euros.

"The final... outcome remains exposed to adverse external developments" including "conflict escalation in Ukraine and the Middle East, macro-economic shocks and any further impact of repeated European strikes (by air traffic controllers) and mismanagement", O'Leary said.

He added that he expected full-year traffic to reach almost 208 million passengers, an annual gain of four percent.

"Running an airline is all about getting as many bums as possible on seats, selling extras, and keeping costs low," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

"Ryanair is good at all these things, and it has form in riding out short bursts of turbulence," he added.

- Elon Musk spat -

During an investor call, O'Leary brought up the recent media attention over his public spat with US billionaire Elon Musk.

"We had a bumper week of free PR last week," he said.

The feud between the two men, both known for their provocative outbursts, came after O'Leary ruled out using Musk's Starlink satellite internet system to equip Ryanair's fleet with wi-fi, citing cost considerations.

The Ryanair boss has also taken aim at the Irish government over a passenger cap at Dublin Airport, an environmental measure regularly criticised by the airline and by US carriers.

Ryanair confirmed to AFP on Monday that it planned to take out advertisements on the conservative US news channel Fox News, putting the issue on the agenda of the Irish prime minister's St. Patrick's Day visit to the United States.

T.Khatib--SF-PST