Ryanair's Latest Balance Sheet: Profits Treble

Ryanair has reported full year profits of €319 million after tax - over three times that of last year's €105 million profit.

In a press conference this morning, the airline also said that traffic had climbed by 14% in March 2010 (to 67 million passengers) compared to the same period last year.

However the carrier also said: "Q1 will be adversely impacted by weaker yields in May and June due to the volcanic ash disruptions, and the inclusion of part of Easter revenues in the prior period. As a result Q1 Net Profits are expected to be slightly lower than last year."

During the last year, Ryanair has opened eight new bases: Bari, Brindisi, Faro, Leeds, Oslo Rygge, Pescara, Porto, Trapani, bringing the current toal to 42 bases. It has also added 284 routes, bringing its current network to 940 routes.