Ryanair has announced quarter three profits of €103 million, a 110 per cent increase on prior year. 

Traffic grew 20 per cent to 25 million over the period, as average fares fell one per cent to €40.

The low-cost Irish carrier also saw load factors rise five per cent to 93 per cent, while unit costs fell by five per cent.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “We are pleased to report that our low fares policy delivered strong quarter three traffic and profit growth.

“Following a strong first half of quarter three, we noted weaker pricing and bookings immediately after the terrorist events in Paris and Brussels.

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

Four new bases opened in quarter three - Berlin, Corfu, Gothenburg and Milan Malpensa – and enjoyed strong advance bookings and are performing well. 

At the same time Ryanair said it was planning to return €800m to its shareholders in a share buyback.

The company said by the end of the nine-month process, it will have returned €4 billion to shareholders over eight years.

Shares rose one per cent to €13.90 in the first minutes of trading this morning.