Ryanair has reported a loss of €102m for the third quarter of 2008/09.
The airline said the loss was because of a 71% increase in fuel costs.
The €101.5m adjusted net loss for the three months to the end of December compares with a €35m profit a year ago.
However the airline has raised its full-year outlook to a profit from break-even, due to lower fuel costs, and forecast substantial profit next year.
Ryanair now expects a smaller fourth-quarter loss than previously anticipated due to lower fuel costs, allowing it to raise full-year guidance to net profit in the €50-80m range versus an earlier projection of break-even, it said.
'The 38% reduction in oil prices which our fuel hedging has secured will ensure that Ryanair returns to substantial profitability next year, when many of our competitors will be reporting losses,' Ryanair said.
Ryanair expects fares to fall by more than 10% next year, or more if the recession deepens, it said, adding that it does not expect to give precise earnings guidance for 2009/10 until the fare outlook becomes clearer.
'The longer and deeper this recession, the better it will be for the lowest cost producers in every sector,' Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said.
'Like Lidl, Aldi, IKEA and McDonalds, Ryanair is the lowest cost provider - by a distance - in the European airline industry, and we are poised for substantial traffic and profit growth in the coming year as the recession forces millions of passengers to focus on price,' he said.
