Ryanair raised its full-year outlook today as the no-frills carrier produced a better than expected third-quarter profit that boosted its shares as much as 13 per cent.
"We think we've had a very strong performance in the third quarter and will be upgrading our full-year (net profit) guidance to €246 million," Ryanair chief financial officer Mr Howard Millar said.
Ryanair had previously said it would struggle to break even in the seasonally tough second half, having posted a net profit of €200.1 million in the first six months.
At €34.5 million, Ryanair's net profit in the three months to the end of December was below the €40.96 million posted in the same period a year earlier but better than even the most optimistic market forecasts.
"The company has a history of outperforming, which means there's always scope for a surprise with Ryanair but I think most people are going to see this as a particularly pleasant one," said Mr Shane Matthews at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin.
Ryanair stock was up 7.3 per cent at €6.31 by 2.40 a.m. after touching €6.65. It outperformed a slightly weaker Irish market and rival EasyJet which gained nearly 2 per cent.
The number of passengers carried in the quarter grew 13 per cent to 6.9 million, lifting revenues 15 per cent to €294.4 million. Ticket revenues rose 14 per cent while ancillary revenues, such as car hire and hotels, jumped 24 per cent.
The boost to non-core sales came despite a disappointing trial of Ryanair's much-vaunted in-flight entertainment system. The portable television screens will now not be rolled out across the whole fleet and could be discontinued.
Having predicted a "bloodbath" for Europe's budget airlines this winter, Ryanair said its own prospects had improved as rivals have been forced to cut capacity.