Ryanair's chief executive will raise another €11.6 million (£9.14 million) from the sale of airline shares to add to the €34.8 million he made last week.

Mr Michael O'Leary and the company are each selling an additional one million shares under the over-allotment provisions in the Ryanair share placing announced last week. The placing of shares at €11.6 each was four times oversubscribed.

Ryanair, which raised €116 million in the initial placing, will add another €11.6 million to bring the total raised to €128 million before expenses. The shares were placed at a 5 per cent discount to Friday's closing price of €12.26. Ryanair said it will use the proceeds to fund the acquisition of 13 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

When the placing is fully completed Mr O'Leary will have raised €46.4 million in cash from share sales. His remaining 26 million Ryanair shares - 7.16 per cent of the company - is worth about €316 million.

Last week Ryanair reported a 34 per cent rise in profits after tax to €21.3 million for the three months to December 31st. Passenger numbers increased by 39 per cent to 1.89 million. Finance director Mr Howard Millar is forecasting a 34 per cent increase in revenue for the 12 months to end March. Ryanair shares have been one of the best performers on the Irish market over the last 12 months. The shares closed at €12.20 yesterday, down six cents and just off their 2001 high of €12.31.