Profit boost for Aer Lingus

AER LINGUS has reiterated its positive full-year guidance after posting a 35.4% increase in operating profit for the third quarter of the year.

The former state-controlled airline said operating profit for the three months to the end of September amounted to €79.2 million, up from the €58.5m figure posted for the corresponding period last year. Total revenue for the quarter was up by 5.5%, on a year-on-year basis, at €411.7m.

The company said it generated an operating profit of €60.2m in the first nine months of the year; compared to a loss of €34.4m for the same period in 2009. The year to-date has also seen a year-on-year increase of 1.3% in short-haul passenger revenue to €570.3m and a 2.8% like-for-like decline in long-haul revenue to €211.5m.