Ryanair chief sells €39m shares
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary pocketed around €39m today after selling part of his stake in the budget airline.
Mr O’Leary gave no reason for his decision to sell six million shares, reducing his holding by 0.8% of the company to 4.5%. It still leaves him the firm’s biggest individual investor.
A spokeswoman for the company said there was “nothing unusual” about the move and Mr O’Leary had sold shares on a number of occasions in recent years. She said he had already publicly stated plans to reduce his shareholding.
Mr O’Leary is thought to have raised around €150m from past sales.
The shares were sold today at a value of €6.50 each, bringing in a total of €39m. The stock has risen from €5.60 at the start of May and is far higher than its €3.70 level last October.
Last year, the low-fares carrier posted lower profits for the first time since the airline floated on the Irish Stock Exchange in 1997.
It said last week that its prospects appeared more positive as it posted a 19% rise in annual profits to €268.9m. This exceeded predictions made 12 months earlier.
It forecast that profits would rise with increased passenger numbers despite growing fuel costs.
