Ryanair: To pay out €398m to investors

Ireland's low-cost carrier Ryanair said Thursday it will pay out 398 million euros ($445 million) to shareholders from the sale of its Aer Lingus stake.

The Dublin-based group will distribute the proceeds from the sale of its near 30 percent Aer Lingus holding via a share buyback, Ryanair said in a statement issued at its annual meeting.

The company had agreed on July 10 to sell its stake to British Airways owner International Airlines Group, clearing the way for a takeover.

Earlier this month, Ryanair hiked its annual net profit forecast by a quarter on keen demand for summer holidays at higher prices.

The group predicted earnings after taxation will climb to about 1.2 billion euros in the current financial year to March 2016. That compared with the previous guidance of 970 million euros.

The share buyback will meanwhile bring the total funds returned by Ryanair to shareholders so far this year to 800 million euros.