Europe's biggest budget carrier by passengers, Ryanair, on Monday reported a 43-percent surge in net profit for its fiscal year to March 2016.

The Irish airline said its bottom-line earnings amounted to 1.24 billion euros ($1.39 billion), just short of a forecast of 1.25 billion euros seen in a company poll of analysts' estimates.

The good result was attributable to low fuel prices, the company said, adding that the 1.24 billion euros in profit did not include the money earned through the sale of its stake in Aer Lingus.

Cautious outlook

Ryanair's revenue was also up markedly as the carrier reported a 16-percent increase in turnover for the full year to total 6.5 billion euros.

CEO Michael O'Leary indicated the company was planning to cut ticket fares by 7 percent on average this fiscal year with a view to bolstering its market share as intensifying competition hit Europe's airline business.

He added Ryanair cautiously expected net profit to increase by approximately 13 percent in the year to March 2017 to between 1.38 billion and 1.43 billion euros.

hg/jd (Reuters, dpa)