[DUBLIN] Irish no-frills airline Ryanair said Monday that third-quarter net profit more than doubled on surging passenger numbers, and unveiled an 800 million euro (S$1.24 billion) share buyback programme.

Earnings after taxation rocketed 110 per cent to 103 million euros in the three months to the end of December, compared with 49 million euros a year earlier, Ryanair said in a results statement. Customer traffic jumped by a fifth to 25 million people.

The Dublin-based carrier added it would return 800 million euros to investors via a share buyback, and cited its rising profitability and improving cashflow.

Ryanair added that price promotions and heavy discounts offset the impact of weaker demand following last November's deadly Paris attacks.

"Following a strong first half of Q3, we noted weaker pricing and bookings immediately after the terrorist events in Paris and Brussels," said chief executive Michael O'Leary.

"We reacted to this softness by running price promotions and discounted fares to stimulate double digit traffic growth."

The company added that a modest dip in average fares was offset by lower costs, largely because of tumbling oil prices.

AFP