Ryanair says sees share buybacks, dividends after 2015

Ryanair expects to be able to start a program of share buybacks and special dividends after 2015 once most of the capital expenditure needed for its order of 175 Boeing 737-800s has ended, chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday.

Ryanair signed a commitment to buy the aircraft in New York on Tuesday in a deal worth $16 billion at list prices.

"We expect to fund this order from a mix of internally generated cash flow and debt," O'Leary told a conference call with investors.

"But once we get over that hump of internally (funding)... we would expect to resume a program of share buybacks and probably special dividends" after calendar 2015, he said.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Anthony Barker)