Low-cost Ryanair lifts full-year forecast

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has boosted its full-year revenue forecast after third-quarter results were better than expected. The company's fiscal year ends on March 31st.

Ryanair raised its 2012 net earnings forecast from €490-520m to €540m after third-quarter earnings came in at €18.1m compared to €14.9m a year earlier.

Ryanair also boosted the number of passengers by 3.0% to 17.3m. The average ticket price rose by 7.0% thanks to solid demand. Revenue rose by 15% to €969m.

"We expect further capacity cuts and restructuring in Europe as high fare, loss making carriers struggle to compete with Ryanair's expansion at low prices," the airline said.

Chief Financial Officer Howard Millar told Bloomberg that strong pre-Christmas booking boosted average fares, allowing it to perform better than expected.

CPO