Ryanair shares rose to an all-time high today after its passenger numbers surged for a second successive month and the airline's expanding fleet had fewer empty seats than a year ago.
Ryanair today reported a 20% rise in passenger numbers for December as it carried 6.02 million passengers last month compared to 5.02 million in December 2013.
Ryanair's load factor - or how many seats it fills on each flight - also increased to 88% from 81% last month.
The airline attributed the rising numbers to its lower fares, stronger forward booking strategy and the success of its improved customer service.
It said this is delivering better than expected load factors in its expanded winter schedule.
In November, Ryanair lifted its profit forecast for the full financial year to between €750m and €770m from its original guidance of €650m.
The December traffic growth followed a 22% jump in passenger numbers in November.
Shares in Ryanair closed almost 1% higher in Dublin trade today and have gained over 50% in the past 12 months.
Davy Stockbrokers described the passenger numbers as a "stellar performance".
The stockbrokers said they expect the airline's load factor growth to continue while it predicts that passenger numbers to grow just over 90 million for the full-year to the end of March.
Ryanair hedges its jet fuel purchases further in advance than most, meaning it is locked into higher oil prices but argues that stability is more important to it than the marginal savings it might make on fuel costs.
It said last month that it had taken advantage of the recent dips to extend its fuel hedges out to the first half of its 2017 accounting year.
Analysts at Goodbody Stockbrokers had expected Ryanair to have had to increase capacity by 16% to achieve such a level of passenger growth. The lower than expected increase in seats for sale was another positive element, they added.
