Ryanair Holdings Plc reported robust traffic figures for July today, indicating firm consumer demand in the first month of its key trading quarter of the year.
Europe's largest no-frills carrier said its passenger numbers grew by 22 percent year-on-year in July to 2,480,648, while its load factor - the proportion of available seats sold - was 90 percent, up from 85 percent in July 2003.
Ryanair , which has been slashing fares to fill seats amid cut-throat competition, makes around half of its annual profit in its second quarter ending September 30.
Shane Matthews, analyst at NCB Stockbrokers, welcomed the figures, which he said were in line with forecasts.
"What's clear is that there's certainly demand out there and Ryanair is not encountering any difficulty filling the planes," he said.
"They have their fuel hedge in place, demand seems to be quite robust and the currency is working in the company's favour at the moment on the sterling front."
Matthews said the figures augured well for the quarter. "You could argue that the rest of the summer should see a similar performance," he said.
However, he noted the company's caution about the winter months, with predictions from Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary of a an industry "bloodbath" as intensifying competition and slower demand put the crunch on ticket prices.
"It really depends how aggressive the smaller airlines are going to be in cutting their prices," Matthews said.
Ryanair shares were up 0.5 percent at 4.35 euros by 1325 GMT on a moderately negative Dublin bourse.
The stock has recovered from weakness in the previous session when market concerns over the airline's lack of fuel hedging beyond the end of its second quarter overshadowed forecast-beating first-quarter earnings.