Ryanair CEO O'Leary hits share-price target that could earn him 100 million euros

DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary on Thursday hit a share-price target that could earn him over 100 million euros, a payout he told investors earlier this month would be good value compared to the salaries of football stars.

The share price of Europe's largest low-cost carrier on Thursday closed above 21 euros for a 28th consecutive day, meeting a key condition of a share-option scheme, originally set in 2019 on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If O'Leary, 64, remains with Ryanair until July 2028, he will be granted the option of buying 10 million shares at 11.12 euros per share, according to the company's annual report.

At Thursday's closing price of 23.74 euros, that would represent a discount of 126 million euros.

"I think we're delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when Premiership footballers and managers are getting paid 20-25 million a year," O'Leary said when asked about the share option on an analyst call earlier this month.

"I think Ryanair shareholders are getting a particular value out of our share options - both mine and the rest of the management team," he said on the call, after the airline reported an annual after-tax profit of 1.6 billion euros.

A Ryanair spokesperson earlier this week said the airline was not planning to comment on Thursday's milestone as the options would not vest for another three years.

In his three decades as chief executive, O'Leary has helped transform Ryanair from a small Irish regional carrier to Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers.

He is the airline's eighth-largest shareholder with 44.1 million shares, representing 4.15% of the company. He was granted a significant stake in the 1990s during his early years as chief executive.

Ryanair's share price fell as low as 8 euros at the start of the COVID pandemic, just months after the 21 euro target was set.

(Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)