Ryanair has reported profits of €139.5m for its first financial quarter, a 1% improvement on the same time last year. Revenues for the three months to the end of June increased by 29% to €1.155 billion as passenger numbers rose by 18% to 21.3 million.
The airline said that fares rose by 11% in the three-month period while costs increased by 14% due to a 49% jump in fuel costs.
Ryanair said that the growth in traffic was 'flattered' by the airspace closures in April and May of 2010 after the Icelandic volcanic ash clouds which led to the cancellation of 9,400 flights and the loss of almost 1.5 million passengers.
The airline said that its ancillary revenues grew by 22% to €248m, and amounted to 21% of total revenues for the three-month period.
Ryanair said its outlook for the year remains unchanged. It expects traffic for the year to grow by about 4% while average fares will increase by 12% due to the better mix of new routes and bases and winter capacity cuts. However, operating costs per passenger are also expected to rise by 13% due to higher oil prices.
Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary said the airline's new routes and bases are performing well.
'A combination of recession and competitor capacity cuts continues to create growth opportunities across Europe as airports aggressively compete to attract Ryanair,' he added.
