O’Leary close to sealing deal to remain as Ryanair chief

Ryanair chief executive, Michael O'Leary told shareholders this morning that he and the company's board are close to confirming his committment to remain at the airline's helm for another five years.

In a statement issued ahead of its annual general meeting in Dublin today, Ryanair said profit for its current financial year, which ends on March 31st, will be at the upper end of the €620 million to €650 million guidance it gave in August, depending on yields in the winter months.

Speaking to shareholders at the meeting itself, Mr O’Leary said that he is in talks with the board about a contract that will seal a committment made recently to remain in the job for another five years.

He has been chief executive since 1994 but said today that has always been on the basis of a 12-month rolling contract.

He said that the board wanted to address investor concerns raised in the wake of the announcements about the departures of his two deputies, Michael Cawley, who retired this year, and Howard Millar, who leaves in December.

Mr O’Leary added that the board also wanted to deal with a perception that Ryanair has no succession plan.

He also signalled that the deal will include a performance-related bonus plan. “I am engaged in discussions with the board and remuneration committee during which the board is setting very aggressive traffic growth and profitability,” he said.

The chief executive answered criticisms of the board’s age profile, a number of members are over 70, and the length of time for which some non-executives have served.

“We have addressed those concerns by bringing in alot of new blood in the last few years,” he said. Mr O’Leary argued that the board’s composition had to strike a balance between a number of factors.

James Osborne, who presided over the meeting as chairman, David Bonderman, was unable to attend, stressed that Ryanair's non-executive directors always take "a very strong line on independence".

Ryanair rose as much as 4.2 per cent in Dublin. The company predicted traffic will rise to 87 million customers this year, compared with a previous guidance of 86 million.

The airline signed an order for up to 200 additional Boeing 737 single-aisle aircraft this month as it pushes expansion in Europe, benefiting from the woes of established legacy carriers including Deutsche Lufthansa and Air France-KLM Group, which are struggling to make money on shorter routes.

Ryanair stock has gained 19 per cent this year, outperforming smaller rival Easyjet, which has lost 13 per cent in 2014.

(Additional reporting: Bloomberg)