Ryanair has raised its full year net profit guidance by a quarter from a current range of €940-€970 million to a new range of €1.175-€1.225 billion for the financial year.

The moves comes on the back of stronger than expected peak summer traffic, with travellers also paying slightly higher than expected air fares.   
Ryanair had originally planned to update shareholders on current trading at the annual general meeting at the end of September.

However, the strength of its July and August numbers is continuing into September and the scale of the upgrade required an update to be brought forward, the airline said.

Ryanair cautioned that its full year result remains heavily dependent on close-in bookings in the third quarter, which is currently 30 per cent sold, and quarter four, which currently has zero visibility in terms of sales.

The low-cost carrier last week said it expects downward pressure on fares and yields this winter as it grows strongly in major EU markets such as Germany, at a time when competitors will begin to benefit from lower oil prices as historic hedges unwind.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “We have been surprised by the strength of close-in bookings and fares this summer during which we delivered record 95 per cent load factors in both July and August while fares grew by over two per cent, when we had expected them to be flat.”