DURBAN - Tongaat Hulett chief executive Peter Staude’s total remuneration package declined by 39.46% in 2018 to R10.11m as compared to the total package of R16.70m he received in 2017.
Staude was not paid a cash bonus in 2018, whereas in 2017 he received R6.63m in bonuses, according to the group’s annual report published on Friday.
“No bonuses were paid to the chief executive and chief financial officer in the 2017/18 year due to the headline earnings threshold of R800m not being met,” the group said in the annual report.
The 2018 remuneration packages for executive directors only consist of annual salaries and retirement and medical aid contributions while the 2017 packages included bonuses.
The group added that decisions relating to the remuneration policy and outcomes had been influenced by the various socio-economic dynamics in the countries in which the company operates.
Tongaat Huletts.photo supplied
Staude received the same salary of R8.80m in 2018, while chief financial officer Murray Munro’s annual salary was raised to R5.20m in 2018, up by 6.15percent as compared to R4.88m he received in 2017.
However, Munro’s total package also declined by 29.33percent to R6m as there was no bonus for the year.
This resulted in his total package declining from R8.49m he received in 2017.
The 2017 package included a bonus of R2.88m.
Together both executive directors took home a total of R16.08m, down from R25.19m in 2017.
The group said the 2018 remuneration packages were approved by the remuneration committee and approved by the board. In the results for the year to end March, the JSE-listed agriculture and agri-processing group said its headline earnings declined by 37.2percent to R617m, down from R982m reported a year ago.
The group said its headline earnings were negatively impacted by imports, low international sugar prices and a stronger rand.
“The objective of the remuneration philosophy is to align performance of company executives and fair reward with the company’s commercial success and sustainability, simultaneously taking into account various stakeholders’ perspectives and the affordability/cost to company,” the group said.
Power lines supplying electricity by stated owned Eskom run through sugar cane fields on a Tongaat Hulett farm in Shongweni
It has also nine non-executive directors and they collected R6.99m in fees for 2018. The figure was 6.39percent higher than R6.57m in fees earned in 2017. The group is expecting better results in 2018/19. “Earnings and cash flows are expected to exceed those of the 2017/18 year,” Staude said.