Ryanair, Europe's No.1 low fares airline today (May 26) announced a full year 2014 net profit of €867 mln, ahead of previous guidance.

Last week, the average price of electricity in Latvia and Lithuania increased to EUR 40.87 per megawatt hour (Mwh), which is 13% more than in the previous week, according to Latvenergo's information on electricity prices on the energy exchange Nord Pool Spot.

According to the provisional data of Statistics Lithuania, in I quarter 2015, accommodation establishments received 415.5 thousand guests, or by 5.1% more than in the same quarter of 2014. The number of tourists from the EU countries totalled 106 thousand (by 18.2% more than in the same quarter of 2014), from non-EU countries – 103.5 thousand (by 14.9% less).

Lithuania has been recognized as one of the leaders in the EU for growth in innovation in a new European Commission report. The report, called the Innovation Union Scoreboard, uses 25 different indicators to compare the capacity for innovation of different EU member states. It identified Lithuania as a rapidly developing business location for research and development.

Rimantas Sinkevicius, minister of transport and communications of Lithuania, during the meeting held in Astana with the First Vice-Minister for Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Janis Kasimbet, expressed Lithuania's position on bilateral cooperation in the field of transport and further prospects of its development.

Statistics Lithuania informs that in April 2015 industrial production totalled EUR 1.55 billion at current prices and, compared to March, decreased by 2% at constant prices, seasonally and working day adjusted – increased by 3.4%. In January–April 2015, industrial production totalled EUR 6.0 billion at current prices and compared to the same period of 2014, grew by 3.6%.

As business opportunities with Russia face challenges, some Lithuanian haulers have turned to Europe while others hope to discover possibilities in Turkey. Lithuanian National Road Carriers Association (Linava) discussed cooperation opportunities with Turkey's Road Transport Inspectorate.

On Tuesday, at the opening of Lithuania–Kazakhstan Business Forum in Astana, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius has expressed his delight about a large delegation of almost 80 business representatives, who have accompanied the official delegation of Lithuania to Kazakhstan.

The surplus on the balances of services and secondary income (EUR 172.4 million and EUR 57.8 million) in Lithuania did not offset the deficit on the balances of foreign trade and primary income (EUR 218.8 million and EUR 109.3 million), which led to the build-up of a EUR 97.8 million current account balance (CAB) deficit in Lithuania's balance of payments.

Estonia's economic growth that is a bit slower compared to its neighbours should in the coming years pick up steadily, reaching the same level as Latvia and Lithuania by 2017, predicts the DNB.