Irish no-frills airline Ryanair on Friday lifted its annual profit forecast, citing a solid holiday performance and "strong" fourth-quarter bookings. Net profit is now expected to stand at between 950 million euros and 1.05 billion euros ($1.06 billion and $1.67 billion) for its current financial year that ends in March, the airline said in a brief statement. That compared with prior guidance of between 800 million euros and 900 million euros. "As a consequence of this better Christmas/New Year travel period and stronger forward bookings in the fourth quarter, Ryanair believes it is appropriate to raise its full year guidance range," said the Dublin-based carrier, which is famed for promoting knock-down ticket prices. It cautioned however that its loss-making Austrian division Laudamotion had underperformed, with average fares lower than expected due to intense competition particularly from Lufthansa. Ryanair is scheduled to publish its third-quarter earnings on February 3. rfj/rl