Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary can cash in on a historic giant bonus if the value of Ryanair's stock exceeds a certain threshold.
Irish The stock of low-cost airline Ryanair rose to a record level on Friday.
This was happy news not only for the company's shareholders but also for the CEO For Michael O'Leary. Economic magazine The Financial Times (FT) estimates that he will probably offset the price increase with a bonus of one hundred million euros.
According to Ryanair's incentive program agreed in 2019, O'Leary can earn about one hundred million euros worth of low-cost airline stock options if Ryanair's share price rises to 21 euros for 28 days or if the company's operating profit after taxes reaches 2.2 billion euros per year.
Ryanair's share cost 18.99 euros on the Irish stock exchange on Friday, so O'Leary's bonus cannot be declared for sure yet. However, analysts estimate that the stock will still rise in price.
The airline's operating profit after taxes, on the other hand, is estimated by the financial media Bloomberg to be somewhere between 1.85 and 2.05 billion euros this year.
According to the FT, O'Leary's bonus, if realized, would be one of the largest ever paid in European corporate history.
O'Leary has been CEO of Ryanair since 1994.
During his time, the company has grown explosively and managed to break through from the regional aviation market to the international one.
According to Bloomberg, Ryanair is currently the second most valuable airline in the world in terms of market value. The most valuable is the American Delta Air Lines.
Under O'Leary's leadership, Ryanair aims to double its passenger numbers over the next decade.
O'Leary assured the FT earlier this year that the company still has opportunities to grow in the European aviation market.
“We will continue to wipe the floors of all other airlines in Europe,” he said in an interview with the newspaper.
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