Ryanair Holdings plc – Annual report – 31 March 2023
Industry: transport
1. Basis of preparation and significant accounting policies (extract)
Intangible assets – landing rights
Intangible assets acquired are recognized to the extent it is considered probable that expected future benefits will flow to the Company and the associated costs can be measured reliably. Landing rights acquired as part of a business combination are capitalized at fair value at that date and are not amortized, where those rights are considered to be indefinite. The carrying values of those rights are reviewed for impairment at each reporting date and are subject to impairment testing when events or changes in circumstances indicate that carrying values may not be recoverable. No impairment to the carrying values of the Company’s intangible assets has been recorded to date.
4. Intangible assets
Landing slots were acquired with the acquisition of Buzz Stansted Limited in April 2003 and Lauda in fiscal year 2019.
As these landing slots have no expiry date and are expected to be used in perpetuity, they are considered to be of indefinite life and accordingly are not amortized. The Company also considers that there has been no impairment of the value of these rights to date. The recoverable amount of these rights has been determined on a value-in-use basis, using discounted cash-flow projections for a twenty year period for each route that has an individual landing right. The calculation of value-in-use is most sensitive to the operating margin and discount rate assumptions. Operating margins are based on the existing margins generated from these routes and adjusted for any known trading conditions. The trading environment is subject to both regulatory and competitive pressures that can have a material effect on the operating performance of the business. Foreseeable events, however, are unlikely to result in a change of projections of a significant nature so as to result in the landing rights’ carrying amounts exceeding their recoverable amounts. These projections have been discounted based on the estimated discount rate applicable to the asset of 13.4% for 2023, 11.2% for 2022 and 11.5% for 2021.
Accounts examples 