Ryanair Q1 Profit Soars From Easter Boost

Ryanair has set out plans for expansion in Europe after more than doubling its first quarter earnings.

Shares (Frankfurt: DI6.F - news) at the no-frills rose 5% following the announcement that revenues rose 11% to €1.34bn (£1.06bn).

Profit during April, May and June soared 152% compared with the same time last year.

In afternoon trading shares in Ryanair were still up 3.5% on the day.

But, Europe's biggest budget airline did acknowledge a slight distortion with the timing of Easter, which fell within that period this year but didn't in 2013.

With fares rising and costs falling the no frills airline has raised its profits forecast for the year.

Full year earnings are now expected at around €635m (£513m), up from €600m (£475m).

Passenger numbers also rose 4% to 24.3 million in the same period.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary said four new bases including Athens, Brussels, Lisbon and Rome were "performing strongly" with new bases due to open this winter in Cologne, Gdansk, Warsaw and Glasgow.

Mr O'Leary added: "We are overrun with growth offers from primary European airports whose incumbent flag and regional carriers continue to cut capacity and traffic."

Ryanair has also said that it plans to increase capacity this winter by 8% and build more business-friendly routes.

It comes as rivals Air France (Paris: FR0000031122 - news) -LKM and Lufthansa issued profit warnings for the end of 2014.