The announcement came as the companyt reported third-quarter profit after tax of €103 million, more than double the same figure a year ago.
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The company said revenues increased 17 per cent from €1.13 billion to €1.33 billion in the three months to the end of December.
Following a strong first half of Q3, we noted weaker pricing and bookings immediately after the terrorist events in Paris and Brussels.
Average fares fell 1pc in the last three months of the year and will fall 6pc in the three months to March 31, Ryanair said, a slight downgrade to earlier forecasts.
This was fuelled by a 25% surge in passenger numbers to 20 million, with average fares falling by 1%.
The airline added it was comfortable with full year guidance for net profits towards the upper end of the €1.175bn to €1,225bn range. Once the process is complete the carrier will have returned more than €4 billion to investors over the past eight year, it said.
The buyback, to be made in light of “rising profitability and improving cash flow”, will commence on February 5 and span nine months, Ryanair said in a statement.
Ryanair said it would spend €800m buying back its own shares to increase shareholder returns.
Speaking to Business Breakfast, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer David O’Brien said that this will lead to savings of €430m – and that the company intends to pass these savings on to customers through lower fares.
Ryanair maintained its profit forecast for the full year. We expect Q4 traffic will grow by 26% (22% previously guided). Ryanair shares have fallen 8.8pc since the start of the year, compared to a fall of 10pc in the index.
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“We caution, however, that this guidance is heavily dependent on the absence of further unforeseen events impacting close-in bookings and yields in quarter four, especially over Easter, where we are working to deliver 26% traffic growth”.
