Ryanair group chief executive Michael O’Leary is reportedly on course to earn a €100 million bonus after the low-cost airline’s shares hit a record high.
Shares rose to €18.99 on Friday, bringing gains for the year to more than 50% and underlining Ryanair’s position as the most valuable airline in Europe.
Under a bonus scheme agreed in 2019, O’Leary can earn share options worth about €100 million if the airline’s share price hits €21 for 28 days, or it reports €2.2 billion in annual profits after tax.
The payout would be one of the biggest in corporate European history, and see O’Leary granted the options to buy 10 million shares at €11.12 each, the Financial Times reported.
Financial analysts covering the company have an average share price target of €24 over the next 12 months, according to Bloomberg data, while the airline has forecast profit after tax of between €1.85 billion to €2.05 billion for the financial year to March, assuming “modest losses” over the winter.
The incentive plan was originally due to run until 2024, but was extended until 2028 in December last year, when the shares were below €13.
O’Leary was paid €925,000 in Ryanair’s most recent financial year, but also owns 3.9% of the carrier, a stake estimated to have a market value of €907 million.
Ryanair is the second most valuable airline in the world by market capitalisation behind Delta Air Lines in the US, according to Bloomberg data, and has outlined plans to double passenger numbers over the next decade.
O’Leary told the FT earlier this year that he believed there was room for more growth in Europe, even as some analysts questioned whether the market is essentially at maximum capacity.
“As long as we don’t do something stupid – which is a daily challenge in this industry – we will continue to wipe the floor with every other airline in Europe,” he said.
Analysts at Barclays have said Ryanair’s growth targets “should be relatively straightforward”, but that like all airlines the company faces risks from “regulatory intervention, particularly relating to environmental regulation, but also consumer protection”.
The FT said that Ryanair did not respond to a request for comment.
The report emerged as Ryanair agreed a new deal with travel, expense and invoice management firm SAP Concur to expand access to its fares for business travellers.
The budget carrier’s fares will be made available via the Concur Travel online booking tool as well as a dedicated Concur TripLink booking flow on Ryanair’s website and app.
SAP Concur regional vice president supplier services for EMEA Paul Dear said: “These agreements show the Ryanair commitment to business travellers and corporate travel managers. We look forward to a long and successful relationship that delivers real value to the corporate travel community.”