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Ryanair doubles profit, fares set to slide

London - Ryanair doubled earnings in its fiscal third quarter as passenger numbers surged, while cautioning that a decline in fares is set to accelerate during the remainder of the year.

Profit after tax increased to €103m in the three months ended December 31 from €49m a year earlier, Dublin-based Ryanair said in a statement on Monday.

That was short of the €118.2m predicted by analysts, based on the average of five estimates.

Ryanair grounded 10 fewer planes than in the previous winter while benefiting from a decline in jet fuel prices of almost 40% over the past 12 months. Still, prices weakened after the November terror attacks in Paris, and a 1% fare decline in the quarter is set to accelerate to 6% in the current period, it said.

“We noticed a bit of softness post those events, and as we always do when there is a bit of softness in the market, we stimulated it with fare promotions and discounts,” chief financial officer Neil Sorahan said in an interview.

Ryanair still expects to boost traffic 26% in the final quarter, 4 percentage points more than previously estimated, allowing it to report full-year earnings toward the upper end of a €1.175bn to €1.225bn range, as targeted, it said.

The company has sought to refine its no-frills image by improving its website, offering more services to primary airports and providing paid-for extras to entice more business passengers and families. The repositioning strategy, known as Always Getting Better, helped keep the proportion of seats filled above 90% in the third quarter.

Having carried 90.6 million people in fiscal year 2015, Ryanair said it aims to fly 106 million this year, up from a previous target of 105 million passengers.

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