A BUDGET airline which flies from Stansted has reported reduced profits because of continued low fares.

Ryanair has said it had reduced fares by 13 per cent on average over a three-month period, and while this helped increase the number of passengers by 11 per cent, revenues still fell.

The group said annual net profits for the year to 31 March 2010 were now expected to be at the lower end of the 200m euros to 300m euros range which analysts had expected.

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said: “Most of our competitors have recently reported declining traffic, falling yields and substantial losses. This is accelerating the pace of airline closures and consolidations.”

He went on to say: “The winners in a deep recession will always be those companies like Aldi, Lidl, McDonalds, and Ryanair who offer the lowest prices and the best service to consumers.

“We will also continue to drive down costs and pass these on in the form of lower fares right across Europe for the benefit of each of our 67m passengers”.