Ryanair upbeat on profit and passenger outlook

Image source, Reuters

Irish airline Ryanair has reported a 25% rise in quarterly profits and says its full-year results will be at the top end of expectations.

Net profits for the three months to June were 鈧245m (拢174m), up from 鈧197m a year earlier,

Revenues in the quarter grew by 10% to 鈧1.5bn.

The carrier now expects profit for the year to March 2016 to be at the upper end of its forecast of between 鈧940m and 鈧970m issued in May.

However, Ryanair added: "We caution... that this guidance, which is 12% ahead of last year's profit, is heavily reliant on the final outturn of H2 fares over which we currently have almost zero visibility."

In May, Ryanair reported a 66% rise in net profit 鈧867m (拢614m) saying its customer experience improvement programme "Always Getting Better" had attracted millions of new customers to Ryanair. Falling oil prices also cut the airline's costs.

Earlier this month, Ryanair accepted an offer from International Airlines Group (IAG) for its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus.

The low-cost airline said its board had voted to accept the deal, saying the IAG offer, "maximises Ryanair shareholder value".