Irish budget carrier Ryanair posted net profits of €99 million ($122 million) for the first quarter, down €40 million on higher fuel costs.

The airline lifted first quarter revenues for the three months to June by 11% to €1.28 billion off the back of a 4% rise in average fares and 6% increase in passenger numbers.

But operating unit costs increased 10%, driven by fuel costs up more than a quarter to €544 million - now contributing almost half of its total costs.

Ryanair, citing limited visibility of winter yields, says its remains cautious on the full year and has left its profits outlook for the 12 months to March 2013 unchanged at around €400-440 million.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news