DUBLIN, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Ryanair reported after-tax profit just short of analyst forecasts for the six months ended September on Monday as average fares fell 10% during the period, which is when Europe's largest low-cost carrier typically makes most of its profit.
But the Irish airline said that declines in ticket prices were moderating and that average fares in the current quarter would be only "modestly lower" than the same period last year.
After tax-profit for the first half of Ryanair’s financial year was 1.79 billion euros ($1.95 billion), just short of the 1.8 billion euro profit forecast in a company poll of analysts, but 18% behind the same period a year earlier.
"Forward bookings suggest that Q3 demand is strong and the decline in pricing appears to be moderating," Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said in a statement, referring to the three months to the end of December.
O'Leary said Ryanair would trim its traffic growth target for its next financial year, which ends on March 31 2026, to 210 million passengers from 215 million to reflect delivery delays from Boeing.
Shares in the airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, ended Friday at 18.02 euros, down 5.5% year to date.
The share price dropped to as low as 13.41 euros in July after it reported profits had almost halved in the three months to the end of June, but recovered on more positive commentary about late summer fares.
($1 = 0.9179 euros)
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