Ryanair investors will reap €400m in spoils from sale of Aer Lingus
Ryanair announced at its AGM yesterday it would be sharing the €398m (£293m) spoils from the sale of its Aer Lingus stake with shareholders.
Ryanair agreed to sell its 29.8 per cent stake in the Irish airline to International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways and Iberia, this summer.
The budget airliner also said it would be increasing its full year traffic forecasts to 104m customers, from a previous estimate of 103m, and increasing its profits guidance by 25 per cent – to €1.2bn.
The company announced it expected the funds to be returned to shareholders before December, subject to EGM approval.
It will bring the total shareholder returns this year to €800m, and more than €3.3bn since 2008.
Ryanair chairman David Bonderman said: “During our 30th year, Ryanair will grow traffic by over 13m to 104m customers.”
He added: “It is clear that consumers all over Europe are delighted by our ‘Always Getting Better’ customer experience programme, and our combination of low fares and customer service continues to deliver.”