Yahoo Finance Ryanair suffers investor rebellion over executive pay
Ryanair has suffered a shareholder rebellion, with more than a third of investor votes against executive pay at the budget airline’s annual meeting.
The protest came with chief executive Michael O’Leary in line for a bonus of €458,000 (£416,000) despite the crisis in the airline industry. Ryanair has taken £600m in support from the UK Government and furloughed thousands of employees, with plans to make thousands more redundant.
Some 34.2pc of the vote was against executive pay, with 65.8pc supporting it, and 1.9pc of shares abstained, meaning the pay resolution was approved.
Mr O’Leary received a total of €3.47m. Of this €500,000 was base pay down from €1m a year ago, and which will be halved next year in response to coronavirus.
It also included €2.5m of shares-based payments. His €458,000 bonus was below the maximum €500,000 he could have received.
Shareholder advisory group ISS had urged investors to vote against the remuneration report, saying it was “difficult to justify” a bonus at 92pc of the maximum possible in the face of the crisis in aviation.
ISS added: “Many of the larger UK listed companies in less challenging circumstances than Ryanair have either deferred or cancelled executive bonus payouts altogether in light of the current climate, in a show of solidarity with key stakeholder groups such as employees and shareholders.”
Ryanair said that where resolutions received a vote of 20pc or more against them, directors would “consult with shareholders in order to understand the reasons behind those proxy votes”.
Ryanair’s first quarter results issued in July showed a collapse in the airline’s finances, with revenue of €125m down 95pc on the same period a year before, and it plunging to a €185m net loss compared with a €243m profit last time round.
Last year Mr O’Leary’s pay got even less support, with only 51pc of shareholders backing the package made up of base pay of €1m, a €768,000 bonus and and €1.5m of shares.
