2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Ryanair's Michael O'Leary earned €3.83m in last year
The airline chief executive received the maximum bonus, equivalent to 50pc of his basic pay, as Ryanair recorded pre-tax profits of €1.78bn on the back of revenues climbing to €13.94bn.
Passenger numbers increased by 9pc to a record 200 million in the year.
Mr O'Leary's package included share options worth €2.03m. A note attached to the accounts states that this component is through the company recording a technical non-cash accounting charge. The options remain unvested.
At the end of last month the Ryanair CEO qualified for share options worth more than €100m as part of a bonus scheme. The 64-year-old will have to stay at Ryanair until July 2028 to collect them.
The just-filed annual report shows that while overall Ryanair revenues increased by €505m or 3.75pc to €13.94bn, its Irish revenues contracted by 4pc from €791m to €757.5m.
The airline's Irish business accounted for 5.4pc of overall revenues as Italy was its most lucrative market at €2.96bn, followed by Spain at €2.47bn and UK revenues at €2.04bn.
In a message to shareholders, Mr O'Leary said that the home market in Dublin is being 'hampered by failed regulation and political inaction'. While Dublin Airport has invested over €320m in a second runway, which doubles the overall capacity to over 60 million passengers per annum, 'Dublin's airlines are prevented from using' it, due to the passenger cap imposed in 2007.
He said that Ireland's newly elected Government 'committed to removing this outdated traffic cap, yet three months later no action has been taken'.
The annual report also refers to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) launching an inquiry into Ryanair's booking verification process last October.
It says the airline has engaged with the DPC, "explaining that its verification requirement is designed to ensure compliance with safety and security protocols, and that the process of verification fully complies with the requirements of the GDPR".
The annual report says the inquiry is expected to take at least one year, and while Ryanair is confident in its position, a negative finding could lead to a substantial fine.
Also in his message to shareholders, Mr O'Leary says that the biggest medium-term challenge remains the risk to Boeing deliveries. While the final units of a 210-strong Boeing order were contracted to deliver last December, by the end of March they were still 34 short.
'We got five more in April but the remaining 29 are not expected to deliver until the second half of FY26, hopefully in time for summer 2026,' it says. 'The quality and timeliness of Boeing deliveries has recently improved under their new management, but this needs to be reflected in rising monthly production if Boeing is to erase its current delivery backlog.'
Mr O'Leary states that over the next decade Ryanair hopes to buy 300 more Boeing MAX-10 aircraft.
