Business reporter, BBC News
Getty ImagesRyanair boss Michael O’Leary is on track to pocket bonuses worth more than €100m in what could reportedly mark one of the biggest pay-outs in European corporate history.
It comes after shares in the budget airline closed above €21 (£17.65) for a 28th consecutive day on Thursday, meeting a key performance target.
Mr O’Leary will have the option to receive 10 million shares worth some €111.2m (£93.3m) providing he stays with the airline until the end of July 2028.
The Irish boss, known for his punchy comments, said earlier this month that Ryanair was “delivering exceptional value” to shareholders despite it reporting a fall in full-year profits.
“I think Ryanair shareholders are getting a particular value out of our share options – both mine and the rest of the management team,” he said in response to being asked about the share option on an analyst call earlier this month.
“We’re delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when premiership footballers or the managers are getting paid 20 to 25 million a year.”
Ryanair said in a statement that the share price aspect of the bonus was “on only one of two conditions”, adding: “The second condition is that Michael and the rest of the management team must remain employed by Ryanair until the end of July 2028, so these share options won’t vest for another three years yet.”
Mr O’Leary has indicated that he could stay on longer at the airline when his current contract expires in 2028. He has been with Ryanair since 1988.
Since becoming chief executive in 1994, He has spearheaded the airline’s sharp trajectory from a relatively small regional airline into a Europe’s largest low-cost carrier.
“There’ll have to be some discussion I presume with the board as to how my remuneration will be fixed from 2028 onwards, if they want me to stay on after 2028,” he said.
The long-term incentive scheme for Mr O’Leary was first set out in 2019, the year he became group chief executive.
But the High Pay Centre, a think tank which tracks executives’ pay, criticised the bonus, saying “regardless of how successful a business or how effective the company’s leader is, no-one individual’s contribution can ever be great enough to be worth a €100m bonus”.
A statement added: “This is especially true when most of Ryanair’s employees – who also play a crucial role in the company’s success – are unlikely to earn more than a fraction of that across their whole working lives.”
Low-cost rival carrier, Wizz Air has a similar potential pay deal in place for its chief executive József Váradi.
Mr Váradi stands to earn £100m if his airline’s share price hits £120 by 2028. But Wizz Air has previously conceded that this was unlikely to be met with the shares trading well below that level.
Earlier this month, Ryanair ordered some flight attendants in Spain to repay salary increases following a legal dispute with their union.
