Budget carrier Ryanair has increased its profit by more than 200% for the last financial year, prompting the airline to announce a dividend for its shareholders.
The airline posted a post-tax profit of €319 million between April 2009 and March 2010, compared to €105 million for the previous fiscal year.
Shareholders will see a dividend of €500 million, if approved at the annual general meeting in September.
Ryanair flew 66.5 million passengers between April 2009 and March 2010, up 14% from the 58.6 million carried in the previous financial year.
The airline now flies 940 routes, after 284 new routes were launched in the last fiscal year.
In the coming financial year, Ryanair said it planned to grow traffic by 11%, depending on volcanic ash disruption.
The budget carrier said it had lost 1.5 million passengers due to the ash crisis, and predicted an overall cost of €50 million.
www.ryanair.com