Ryanair 'to warn again on profits'

Investors in Ryanair are bracing themselves for another major profits alert from Europe's biggest budget carrier, after international airline bosses today warned the industry is set to crash into billions of pounds of losses.

Ryanair will tomorrow report net profits of around €470 million (£369 million) for the year to end-March.

The Irish airline has already warned profits could halve this year and analysts now believe 2008-9 earnings are likely to come in nearer €200 million. IATA, the international airlines trade body, warned today that record fuel prices could see carriers around the world post losses totalling $6.1 billion (£3 billion) this year if the price of crude oil stays at or near $135 a barrel for the rest of 2008.

It previously forecast global airline profits of £4.5 billion for 2008 but today said at an average of $106 a barrel this year, carriers will accumulate losses of $2.3 billion.