BHP shareholders advised to oppose chief executive’s ‘excessive’ salary
BHP Billiton shareholders have been advised to vote against the miner's remuneration report later this month on account of chief executive Andrew Mackenzie's “excessive” salary.
Mackenzie was paid $4.657m (£3.55m) last year, a $100,000 pay rise on the previous year, despite missing out on his target pay package after two fatalities at BHP Billiton's mines.
His target remuneration will remain at $7.71m for 2019 and his maximum pay package will be $13.1m, which the company said was only realisable in circumstances of “significant outperformance”.
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Proxy voting adviser Pirc has recommended shareholders oppose the report at the company's AGM on 17 October.
In a note, it said: “The maximum potential award for the CEO under all incentive schemes is considered excessive as it can represent more than 200 per cent of base salary.
“There are concerns over certain features of the long-term incentive plan (LTIP), which are not considered appropriate.”
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It also said that when Mackenzie's pay was compared to the average employee – at a ratio of 31:1 – it was “not acceptable” and recommended it should not exceed 20:1.
Mackenzie's total pay for the year to the end of June, including shares payments, was $8.1m.