Ryanair Holdings plc (LON:RYA) shares advanced strongly on Friday as the budget air carrier upgraded profit guidance thanks to a strong than expected Christmas and New Year period.
Bolstered by higher than expected bookings and yields, Ryanair expects its financial results will show slightly better than expected average fares through the final three months of its financial year.
Annual group traffic is at the same time seen growing to 154mln, above prior guidance of 153mln.
Ryanair now raises its full year guidance for profit after tax to €950mln to €1.05bn, from a previous range of €800m to €900mln.
READ: Ryanair reveals jump in December traffic
“On the basis of current trading, Ryanair expects to finish close to the mid-point of this new range,” the airline said in a statement.
Ryanair is due to report results for its third quarter - the three months ended 31 December - on 3 February.
Also in Friday’s statement, Ryanair noted that Austrian subsidiary Laudamotion continued to underperform with lower than expected fares over the Christmas period, despite strong traffic and high load factors.
The softer pricing was driven by intense price competition as Lufthansa subsidiaries sold seats below cost.
Ryanair said its Lauda business is set to carry 6.5mln passengers in the full year, but fares are expected to be €15 below budget consequently it sees the unit’s net loss for the year widen to €90mln from prior guidance under €80mln.