Ryanair's Michael O'Leary lands historic €100m bonus

Telegraph

3 days ago

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has earned a bonus worth more than €100m (£84m) after the discount carrier's shares cleared a key performance target.
The Irishman qualified for the mammoth payout on Thursday after Ryanair stock traded above the specified level of €21 for a 28th straight day, closing at €23.74.
Mr O'Leary now stands to receive 10m shares for €11.12 apiece, or €111.2m in total. Based on Thursday's closing price, the stock would be worth €237m, bagging a paper profit of €126m.
The Irishman is set for one of the biggest paydays in European corporate history despite Ryanair reporting a 16pc drop in annual profit in an earnings update last week.
Mr O'Leary, a Manchester City fan, said at the time that the bonus was justified in light of the long-term performance of the airline, comparing it with the rewards on offer in the sporting world.
He told analysts: 'I think we're delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when Premiership footballers or the managers are getting paid €20m to €25m a year.
'I think Ryanair shareholders are getting a particular value out of our share options – both mine and the rest of the management team.'
Mr O'Leary did not indicate how he might spend the money and has slimmed down the racehorse training operation into which he poured millions earlier in his career, winning three Grand Nationals and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the process.
The long-term incentive scheme was first set out in 2019 with an expiration date of 2024 as part of a deal that saw the Ryanair chief sign a new contract while accepting cuts to his salary and annual bonus.
However, Covid intervened the following year, grounding flights, plunging airlines into the red and sending share prices tumbling, with Ryanair dropping to €8.
Shareholders subsequently backed an extension to the expiry date. The carrier expanded rapidly in the wake of the pandemic, though struggled last summer after a row with online travel agents saw it deprived of some bookings.
It was also unable to tap increasing demand for all-inclusive package breaks that boosted rivals easyJet, TUI and Jet2, having closed down its own holidays division some years ago.
Regardless, Ryanair continues to rank as Europe's biggest airline by passenger numbers.
Mr O'Leary is credited with transforming the Irish carrier from a regional also-ran into a goliath. He joined as finance chief in 1988 before becoming chief executive in 1994, importing a low-cost, no-frills business model copied from US discount giant Southwest Airlines.
In order to receive the bonus award – to be paid in share options – Mr O'Leary must stay at Ryanair until July 2028, by which time he will be aged 67 and have been chief executive for almost 35 years.
Ryanair did not respond to calls. It previously indicated earlier that it did not plan to comment on its chief executive's windfall since the share options would not vest for another three years.