Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary will land a €100 million (£84million) bonus if the airline’s shares stay high for another week.
O’Leary will bag the huge windfall under a controversial scheme narrowly approved by shareholders in 2019.
It was agreed O’Leary would hit the jackpot if Ryanair’s shares remained at or above €21 for 28 consecutive calendar days. They have closed at that level or higher every day since May 2, meaning the target is on course to be reached on Friday.
But The Mail on Sunday has established that if non-trading days over weekends and bank holidays are excluded the shares only need to hover above the €21 threshold for 18 trading days to trigger O’Leary’s bonanza.
Ryanair has been accused of making the target easier to hit in other ways as well. Last week it launched a €750 million share buyback – the latest in a series of repurchases – which helped propel shares to a record high of €23.84. Analysts at Barclays have warned that the bonus scheme raises concerns about Ryanair’s governance, because a boardroom decision to buy back shares could in theory drive the share price to the required value.
O’Leary, famous for his pugnacious management style, last week defended his bonus after Ryanair posted profits of €1.6 billion, €300million less than the previous year. He said: ‘I think we’re delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when premiership footballers and managers are paid €20 million to €25 million a year.’
High-flyer: Michael O’Leary has run Ryanair since 1994 and is among Ireland’s wealthiest businessmen
The 64-year-old has run Ryanair since 1994 and is among Ireland’s wealthiest businessmen.
He turned the then-struggling Irish airline around, making it the biggest budget carrier in Europe by offering rock-bottom fares and flights to new airports that were often a long way from where passengers needed to go.
A ruthless cost-cutter and climate change sceptic, he has clashed with pilots’ unions, been rude to customers and charged extra for services such as seat reservations and ‘therapeutic’ oxygen, which is used by people with medical conditions as they can’t bring their own on flights for safety reasons.
He has even floated ideas for charging to use cabin toilets, taxing overweight passengers or making customers stand in-flight – outbursts providing Ryanair with oceans of free publicity.
But the airline has also raised revenue by turning planes around faster while maintaining an excellent safety record.
Critics of O’Leary’s payout plan say it rewards the Ryanair chief for hitting share price targets that are beyond his control.
For example, air fares have risen this year after carriers were hit by delays in the delivery of Boeing planes, which reduced the number of available aircraft, causing ticket prices to rise and boosting profits.
They also say that as O’Leary owns a 4 per cent stake in Ryanair – worth £850 million – he has all the motivation he needs.
He has ploughed much of his fortune into horse racing and owns a stud outside Dublin.
O’Leary’s original incentive plan was shredded by Covid. But in 2022 his contract was extended until 2028, meaning he had more time to hit the jackpot. It means he must stay with the airline until then to claim his payout. ‘A lot can happen between now and then,’ he told analysts last week.
Ryanair was approached for comment.
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