Investor backlash expected at Shell over top pay scales
OIL giant Shell is braced for angry shareholder reaction when investors meet at its AGM today.
The Anglo-Dutch company has come under pressure from its investors to review the pay structure of its executives.
Fresh opposition came from institutional investor Co-operative Asset Management (The Co-op) yesterday, which disapproved of the oil giant’s decision to give share awards to directors, even if they missed performance targets.
The Co-op said it had opposed Shell’s remuneration decisions for the past three years, and added it was also voting against director Lord Kerr of Kinlochard’s re-election, because of his advocacy of what it called “inappropriate executive rewards.”
Standard Life Investment, another shareholder, also spoke out on this matter last month.
Last year, chief executive Jeroen van der Veer received a bonus worth about £1.25m.
The payment was based on where the company finished in a league table of oil companies.
The furore comes as a number of blue-chip companies face criticism for their executive payments.
Earlier this month, Network Rail chief Iain Coucher gave up his annual bonus, saying he didn’t want his pay to overshadow his company’s performance.
Meanwhile, sub-prime lender Provident Financial, oil group BP, the miner Xstrata, and property website Rightmove have all faced shareholder anger over executive pay.