Ryanair Group chief executive Michael O’Leary is to see his basic salary increased by 50 per cent as part of a contract extension until 2032.
O’Leary’s basic salary will increase from €1.2 million to €1.8 million as a result of the fresh contract. While the airline announced the chief executive had signed a new deal last week, the increase is detailed in its annual report published on Monday.
“The board has agreed to a contract extension with [Michael O’Leary] to serve as group CEO to March 2032 (extending his current contract which ends April 2028),” the company said.
The extension includes the salary increase along with “a maximum annual bonus will be capped at no more than 50 per cent of basic pay,” no pension benefits, and “a covenant not to compete with the company for 12 months after the termination of his employment”.
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The extension could net him €153 million by way of a stock options plan, The Irish Times reported on June 19th.
O’Leary, who has led Ryanair since 1994, also qualifies for a new one-off purchase option of more than 10 million shares in Ryanair under the new deal. Subject to O’Leary remaining in employment with the group until April 2032, he will be able to buy the shares at a price of €26.70 – the level at which the shares were trading before the war in Iran – if the share price exceeds €42 for 28 consecutive days until the end of March 2032.
The awards are exercisable if Ryanair’s annual net profit breaches the €4 billion level. Its profit for the year to March amounted to €2.26 billion.
The share awards would be worth €153 million upon Ryanair’s stock hitting the €42 per share level. They closed at €26.33 on Monday.
