(Alliance News) - Ryanair Holdings PLC on Monday reported a swing to third-quarter profit, with results boosted by higher prices and stronger demand over the Christmas period.

The Dublin-based budget airline posted revenue of EUR2.31 billion in the three months to December 31, up 57% from EUR1.47 billion a year earlier.

Ryanair swung to a pretax profit of EUR212.8 million from a EUR132.8 million loss. It reported a net profit before exceptional items of EUR211 million, swinging from a loss of EUR96 million.

The company hailed "strong travel demand" over the festive period and said fares were 14% higher than pre-Covid levels.

Customer numbers surged 24% on-year to 38.4 million from 31.1 million. Ryanair's load factor improved to 93% from 84%.

Ryanair expects traffic of 168 million for all of financial 2023, which ends on March 31, up from the 97.1 million in financial 2022.

The company still put its pre-exceptional items net profit guidance range to EUR1.33 billion to EUR1.43 billion. That guidance was lifted from EUR1.00 billion to EUR1.20 billion earlier in January.

It would represent a swing from a EUR355 million loss in financial 2022.

It expects to be loss-making in the fourth-quarter, however, due to when Easter falls in 2023.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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