Japan's largest airline ANA Holdings Inc on Thursday reported an annual profit for the first time in three fiscal years, buoyed by recovering travel demand at home and abroad after pandemic restrictions were lifted.

The company recorded a 120.03 billion yen ($897.6 million) operating profit for the 12 months ended March 31, beating a 97.9 billion yen consensus forecast from 12 analysts polled by Refinitiv. It had reported a 173.1 billion yen operating loss in the prior year.

ANA's prediction of a 140 billion yen annual operating profit for this financial year starting April 1 was in line with an average 140.2 billion yen forecast from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

The full-year results came after the company revised its guidance on Friday, lifting its profit estimate by around 26% to 120 billion yen, citing lower fuel prices and a stronger yen. ($1 = 133.7200 yen) (Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jamie Freed)