Irish airline Ryanair bumped up its full-year profit forecast after bookings and yields beat its expectations in late February and March in the run-up to the Easter holiday.

Europe's biggest low-cost carrier said it expected to post a profit after tax for the year to the end of March of at least €310 million, compared with an earlier projection for €275 million.

Shares in Ryanair, which did not provide further details pending detailed results on June 1, rose six per cent to €3.9, outperforming a 1.4 per cent rise for the wider Irish market. Last week, Ryanair's former takeover target, loss-making Aer Lingus, said operations had improved in the first quarter of 2010, though it was difficult to make forecasts for the rest of the year.