Strong summer helps Ryanair to six-month profits of €2.54bn 

Ryanair expects to fly 207m passengers in the financial year ending in March

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary. Ryanair's reported after-tax profit on Monday just ahead of analyst forecasts for the six months ended September. Picture: Brian Lawless

Ryanair's reported after-tax profit on Monday of €2.54bn for the six months ended September and nudged up its passenger traffic forecast due to earlier than expected Boeing deliveries and strong first-half demand.

The Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, said it cautiously expects to recover all of last year's 7% average fare decline in its financial year to March 31, and that should lead to "reasonable" net profit growth for the full year.