DUBLIN: Ryanair reported a 7 percent fall in profit during its key April-September season on Monday, citing higher fuel costs and damage to bookings caused by strikes, and said European short-haul airfares would remain soft this winter.
Ryanair three weeks ago cut its forecast for full-year profit by 12 percent and warned that worse may follow if a recent wave of pilot and cabin crew strikes across Europe continue to hit traffic and bookings.
Europe’s largest low-cost carrier has struggled with labor relations since it bowed to pressure to recognize trade unions for the first time last December. It said it hoped to finalize more union agreements in the coming months but could not rule out further industrial action.
Shares of Ryanair, which is also counting the cost of stubbornly high fuel prices, closed on Friday at €11.51, down 20 percent compared to three months ago and down 40 percent from a peak of €19.39 in August last year before its staff problems emerged.
Ryanair, which traditionally makes most of its profit in the summer, reported a profit of €1.2 billion ($1.38 billion) in the six months to September 30. It reiterated its full-year profit forecast of between €1.1 billion and €1.2 billion.
That would represent a 17-24 percent fall from the record €1.45 billion post-tax profit booked in its most recent financial year to March 31.
A poll of over 10 analysts by Ryanair ahead of the results found an average forecast of €1.127 billion for the full year and €1.175 billion for the six months to September 30.
“This full year guidance remains heavily dependent on air fares not declining further — they remain soft this winter due to excess capacity in Europe — (and) the impact of significantly higher oil prices on our unhedged exposures,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said in a statement.
But he said Ryanair’s cost advantage over rivals is widening and “over the medium term, consolidation will create growth opportunities for Ryanair’s lowest fare/lowest cost model.”
Strike-hit Ryanair warns fares to remain soft as summer profit falls
Strike-hit Ryanair warns fares to remain soft as summer profit falls
- Ryanair three weeks ago cut its forecast for full-year profit by 12 percent
- Europe’s largest low-cost carrier has struggled with labor relations since it bowed to pressure to recognize trade unions for the first time last December
SABIC posts $31bn revenue, maintains $9bn dividend despite loss
RIYADH: Saudi Basic Industries Corp. swung to a net loss of SR25.78 billion ($6.87 billion) in 2025, as divestment-related charges and weaker petrochemical prices weighed on earnings, even as the company generated SR116.53 billion in revenue.
The loss compares with a net profit of SR1.54 billion a year earlier, while revenue declined 1.03 percent from 2024 levels, according to a Tadawul filing
In a statement, the company attributed the slight fall in revenue to lower average selling prices across key products, partially offset by higher sales volumes.
The company’s operational profit stood at SR4.37 billion in 2025, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization amounted to SR17.88 billion.
In a statement, Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, CEO of SABIC, said: “2025 reflected a moderately improving macroeconomic landscape. Yet, production overcapacity persisted in the petrochemical industry, continuing to squeeze margins and depress utilization rates.”
He added: “Amid these conditions, SABIC remained focused on meeting its 2025 priorities.”
Al-Fageeh, who is set to step down as SABIC’s CEO at the end of March, said the company achieved a total recordable incident rate of 0.07, the lowest in SABIC’s history. “This represents a 22 percent year-over-year improvement in performance across the combined areas of environment, health, safety, and security.”
According to SABIC, losses from discontinued operations increased by SR20.8 billion compared to the previous year.
This was primarily attributed to reporting non-cash losses of SR15.2 billion related to the fair value assessment of the planned exit from petrochemical assets in Europe and thermoplastic engineering businesses in the Americas and Europe.
In a separate Tadawul filing, SABIC said its board approved the distribution of interim cash dividends totaling SR4.5 billion for the second half of 2025, equivalent to SR1.5 per share. The dividend will be paid on March 31 to shareholders registered as of March 8.
The second-half payout follows a similar SR4.5 billion dividend distributed for the first half of 2025, bringing the company’s total shareholder distributions for the year to SR9 billion.
“We remain committed to delivering value to our shareholders, announcing the distribution of SR9 billion in dividends for the full year of 2025,” added Al-Fageeh.
The CEO revealed that construction of the SABIC Fujian petrochemical complex remained on track, reaching 95.3 percent completion.
He further said that SABIC’s innovation program provided market-driven solutions for customers through 148 new product introductions in 2025.
“All these achievements helped to strengthen SABIC’s brand value, which surpassed $5 billion for the first time. Having grown 5.4 percent over the year, the SABIC brand is now valued at $5.19 billion,” he concluded.
SABIC also announced the appointment of Faisal Mohammed Al-Faqeer as its new CEO, effective April 1, 2026, replacing Abdulrahman Saleh Al-Fageeh.
“SABIC Board of Directors extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to Abdulrahman Saleh Al-Fageeh, who has been an instrumental figure in guiding the company through a crucial period of strategic optimization designed to ensure its long-term success and reinforce its role at the forefront of the global petrochemical industry,” the company said in a Tadawul statement.
Al-Faqeer has extensive experience in the petrochemicals and refining industries. He currently serves as senior vice president of liquids-to-chemicals at Saudi Aramco.
