RYANAIR WARNS OF TURBULENCE AS FUEL COSTS SWELL

Ryanair Holdings warned that profit will slump for the first time in five years as rising labour costs compound a fuel-price surge that may force weaker competitors out of business. Net income could fall as much as 14 per cent in the year through next March, Ryanair said Monday. An increase in kerosene costs will pressure earnings in the short term but could also spur a new round of airline failures that will benefit the Irish company by eliminating competitors, it predicted. “Spot prices close to US$80 a barrel are going to lead to a significant shakeout in the industry as early as this winter,” chief executive Michael O’Leary told Bloomberg Television. “Some of those loss-making airlines who couldn’t make money when oil was at US$40 a barrel certainly can’t survive.”