Ryanair Group chief executive Michael O’Leary received a total pay package of €3.83 million last year, the carrier’s annual report shows.
The report shows that in the 12 months to the end of March, Mr O’Leary received the maximum bonus possible of €600,000, or 50 per cent of basic pay under his contract, as Ryanair recorded pretax profits of €1.78 billion on the back of revenues climbing to €13.94 billion.
The airline achieved the revenues as passenger numbers increased by 9 per cent to a record 200 million for the first time.
Mr O’Leary’s pay package was made up of basic pay of €1.2 million, a bonus payment of €600,000 and share options of €2.03 million.
A note attached to the accounts states that the options came about through the company recording a technical non-cash accounting charge in relation to share options granted to Mr O’Leary.
The note states that no such payment was made to Mr O’Leary and the share options remain unvested.
At the end of May, Mr O’Leary qualified for share options worth more than €100 million as part of a bonus scheme. The 64 year old will have to stay at Ryanair until the end of July 2028 to collect the options.
The annual report shows that while overall Ryanair revenues increased 3.75 per cent to €13.94 billion, its Irish revenues contracted 4 per cent from €791 million to €757.5 million.
In his message to shareholders, Mr O’Leary said the airline’s home market is being “hampered by failed regulation and political inaction”, citing the 32 million per year passenger cap at Dublin Airport.
Referring to Dublin Airport’s €320 million second runway, Mr O’Leary said: “Only in Ireland would we allow this vital access infrastructure to be built, but then refuse our airlines and citizens the ability to use it, due to bureaucratic failure to abolish an absurd and outdated planning restriction.”
The annual report also makes reference to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) here launching an inquiry into Ryanair’s booking verification process last October.
The report states that Ryanair has engaged with the DPC “explaining that its verification requirement is designed to ensure compliance with safety and security protocols, and that the process of verification fully complies with the requirements of the GDPR”.
The report states that the inquiry is expected to take at least one year “and while Ryanair is confident in its position, the DPC may ultimately find that the verification process has not fully complied with the GDPR, which could lead to the imposition of a substantial fine”.
