CEO bonuses soar as Qantas boss Alan Joyce tops list of highest-paid executives
ABC News
September 17 2019
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has topped the list of Australia's highest-paid chief executives for 2018, taking home $23.9 million — which is more than 275 times the full-time average wage.
Key points:
A report by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) has found most of the nation's top 100 CEOs got a big bonus in the 2018 financial year
Pressure is growing on companies to be more transparent with shareholders about CEO pay
The ACSI is calling for Australia to look to a UK model where CEO pay is to be measured against that of their company's average worker
The 2018 financial year was another bumper year for CEO bonuses, according to a report by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI).
Of the nation's 100 largest companies, only one CEO eligible for a bonus was not awarded one: Domino's boss Don Meij.
In the 2017 financial year Mr Meij had topped the ACSI's list with realised pay of $36.8 million, mostly gained via an exercise of options.
But this did not recur in FY18 with Mr Meij's realised pay (which includes cash and the actual value of equity that vested during the year) falling to $7.06 million, largely due to the company's share price declining.
Across the top companies, average realised pay dropped to $5.66 million from $6.23 million, following the departure of several highly paid CEOs.
It was also due to the fact that only two CEOs realised more than $20 million in FY18: Mr Joyce and Macquarie's Nicholas Moore (who has since been replaced by Shemara Wikramanayake as chief executive).
Mr Joyce reaped the rewards of a large long-term incentive allocation granted in 2014 when the share price was $1.26, which vested in full during FY2018, when the Qantas share price was $5.66. His pay has since halved.
Here are the top CEOs based on realised pay in the 2018 financial year:
Alan Joyce, Qantas Airways ($23,876,351)
Nicholas Moore, Macquarie Group ($23,855,580)
Michael Clarke, Treasury Wine Estates ($19,024,334)
Bob Vassie, St Barbara ($13,246,088)
Craig Scroggie, NextDC ($12,515,914)
Sandeep Biswas, Newcrest Mining ($12,083,392)
Brian Benari, Challenger Group ($11,696,001)
Raleigh Finlayson, Saracen Mineral Holdings ($11,284,256)
Andrew Bassat, Seek ($10,744,472)
Colin Goldschmidt, Sonic Healthcare ($10,017,376)
Median bonus for the ASX100 CEO hits $1.61 million
ACSI chief executive Louise Davidson wants to see more transparency on pay, noting the banking royal commission had resulted in a decline in the public's trust of major companies and their management.
Rich get richer
Australia's rich keep getting richer, with the top 1 per cent of Australians owning more wealth than the bottom 70 per cent combined.
Ms Davidson is calling for Australia to look to a UK model where CEO pay is to be measured against that of their company's average worker.
The ACSI also wants to see board directors be elected annually, rather than every three years as is the case presently.
"The way bonuses are being handed out suggests there is a culture of entitlement whereby supposedly 'at risk' pay is not very risky at all," Ms Davidson said.
The ACSI's report found more than half of ASX100 CEOs received at least 70 per cent of their maximum entitlement — a figure almost unchanged in four years.
The median bonus awarded to an ASX100 CEO in FY18 was $1.61 million — the second highest in the history of the survey, which is in its 18th year.
There were five ASX100 CEOs in FY18 who received 100 per cent of their maximum bonus.
This included Treasury Wine Estate's Michael Clarke, who in his four full years as CEO has received maximum bonus every year.
The others were Crown's John Alexander, TPG Telecom's David Teoh and Adelaide Brighton's Martin Brydon.