AGM alert: find out how much these three CEOs earn

The rewards for maintaining the FTSE 100 progress of Halma (LSE:HLMA) and B&M European Value Retail SA (LSE:BME) over the next three years will be subject to AGM scrutiny this month.

B&M’s new pay policy includes an increase in bonus and long-term incentive opportunities for boss Alex Russo, whose 2023/24 remuneration totalled £3.2 million.

• Invest with ii: What is a Managed ISA? | Open a Managed ISA | Transfer an ISA

Halma reset pay levels in 2021 and is not proposing any changes to the policy, which this year resulted in its chief executive Marc Ronchetti getting a total of £3.6 million.

Halma

When: 12.30pm, Thursday 25 July.

Where: The King’s Fund, No. 11 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0AN.

How to participate: Proxy voting instructions should be returned no later than 12.30pm, Tuesday 23 July. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Louise Makin, the former chief executive of specialist healthcare company BTG, was appointed in July 2021.

How did the company do in the year to 31 March? The group of life-saving technology companies reported its 21st consecutive year of profit growth. Revenue and adjusted profit both grew by 10% to £2 billion and £396.4 million respectively, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 7.9% to 82.4p. A final dividend of 13.20p a share is due to be paid on 16 August, increasing the total for the year by 7% to 21.61p and extending its record of 5%-plus growth to 45 years.

How have shares performed? Up 6% to 2,368p (2,667p on Thursday). Over a 10-year period, Halma’s total shareholder return was 359% compared with 77% for the FTSE 100. 

How much is the boss paid? The base salary for Marc Ronchetti increased in June by 4.5% to £940,500. His total remuneration for 2023/24 amounted to £3.6 million, which is in line with the amount received by predecessor Andrew Williams in his final year as chief executive. Ronchetti’s overall figure included cash and deferred shares worth £1.7 million after the annual bonus scheme paid 95% of the maximum opportunity. The 84.44% vesting of long-term incentives granted in 2021 contributed an estimated £867,000.

How was variable pay determined? The annual bonus is 90% linked to performance against a weighted average target of economic value added (EVA) for the past three years. The EVA calculation is profit after charging a cost of capital, including on the cost of acquisitions. As the EVA for each year is utilised for a further three years in the comparator calculations, executives must consider the medium‐term interests of the group otherwise there is the potential for an adverse impact on their capacity to earn a bonus. The vesting of long-term incentives is split 50% earnings per share and 50% average return on total invested capital (ROTIC). Adjusted EPS growth was 11.99% a year for the period from April 2021 to March 2024, with average ROTIC for financial years 2022, 2023 and 2024 at 14.52%.

• ii investment performance review: Q2 2024
• Best UK stocks, sectors and markets in first half of 2024
• Sign up to our free newsletter for share, fund and trust ideas, and the latest news and analysis

What’s in the new remuneration policy? The current three-year policy was approved at the 2021 AGM but with 39.82% of votes cast against. The shareholder revolt followed significant changes to variable pay levels as part of efforts to ensure that Halma attracts, retains and motivates executives as a FTSE 100 company. The remuneration committee believes the current policy remains appropriate and it is not proposing any changes.

How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration report was approved with 96.56% of votes in favour.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The gender split of Halma’s board is 50% female, including two senior roles. At least one director is from an ethnic minority background.

Tate & Lyle

When: 10.30am, Thursday 25 July.

Where: Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0RN.

How to participate: The deadline for proxy voting instructions is 10.30am, Tuesday 23 July. More details about Tate & Lyle (LSE:TATE)'s AGM can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? David Hearn, who joined the board in January, has held senior roles at food and beverage industry companies including Del Monte, PepsiCo and United Biscuits

How did the company do in the year to 31 March? Tate & Lyle has its HQ in London, but 96% of revenues and 95% of its workforce are outside the UK. Revenues fell on an adjusted basis by 2% to £1.65 billion due to lower consumer volumes and customer destocking. Adjusted earnings rose 7% to £328 million and free cash flow of £170 million improved £49 million. A final dividend of 12.9p is due to be paid on 2 August, resulting in a 3.2% increase in the total to 19.1p.

How have shares performed? Down 21% to 617.5p (614.5p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? The base salary for Nick Hampton is unchanged in the current financial year at £723,086. His total remuneration for 2023/24 amounted to £2.6 million, down from £3.4 million the year before. The annual bonus scheme paid £564,000 based on 52% of the maximum opportunity, compared with £1 million or 96% the previous year. The 67% vesting of long-term incentives granted in 2021 contributed £1.2 million to the overall figure.

How was variable pay determined? The operating cash flow element of the annual bonus was above the stretch target and adjusted earnings just below target, Revenues were short of the minimum threshold. The vesting of long-term incentives was driven by compound annual organic revenue growth, which included a downward adjustment to factor in high inflation, and adjusted return on capital employed at 17.4%. Relative total shareholder return growth was just below the median of Tate & Lyle’s peer group and below the level required to vest.

• Stockwatch: four stocks to back a UK building boom
• What Labour’s landslide means for investors

How did last year’s AGM go? The new three-year remuneration policy was approved with 96.08% of votes in favour, while the annual remuneration report got 95.97% support.

How’s the company doing on diversity? The 11-strong board is 45% female, including two senior roles, and 18% from Black, Asian or non-white ethnically diverse groups.

B&M European Value Retail

When: 12 noon (CET), Tuesday 23 July.

Where: Sofitel Luxembourg Europe, 6, Rue du Fort Niedergrünewald, Luxembourg.

How to participate: The meeting is being held in Luxembourg in accordance with the company’s constitution. Proxy voting instructions should be returned by 12 noon CET, Friday 19 July. More AGM details can be found here.

Who’s in the chair? Former Vodafone executive Peter Bamford, who was appointed in March 2018, is retiring from the board after the AGM. He is due to be succeeded by senior independent director Tiffany Hall, whose experience is in marketing, sales and customer services after holding senior roles at BUPA and British Airways.

How did the company do in the 53 weeks to 30 March? Revenues increased 10.1% to £5.5 billion. A record adjusted earnings figure of £629 million at a margin of 11.5% exceeded the “lockdown” peak of £626 million. The company declared £348 million in ordinary and special dividends, bringing the cumulative total of cash returns to shareholders to £1.8 billion over the last four financial years. A final dividend of 9.6p a share is due to be paid on 2 August. This leads to a total for the year of 14.7p, which is 0.7% higher on a year ago and at the upper end of the company’s policy. A special dividend of 20p a share was paid in February.

How have shares performed? Up 17% to 545.8p (445.3p on Thursday).

How much is the boss paid? Alex Russo, who became chief executive in September 2022, has seen his base salary for the current financial year increase by 9.4% to £910,000. This is the second part of a phased increase, with the initial rise applied on his appointment to the role.

Russo’s total remuneration for 2023/24 amounted to £3.2 million, which included cash and deferred shares worth £1.6 million after the annual bonus scheme paid 98.8% of the maximum. The 68.2% vesting of long-term incentives contributed £659,207 to the final figure.

How were variable awards determined? The underlying earnings element of the annual bonus scheme was met in full, and the personal objectives were close to maximum.  The long-term incentive scheme is based on 50% adjusted earnings per share and 50% relative total shareholder return (TSR) against FTSE 350 retailers. B&M’s TSR performance was between median and upper quartile, while adjusted EPS was 36.8p relative to a maximum target of 42.3p and resulted in 48.44% vesting of this part of the scheme. 

• Fund managers give their take on what Labour's win means for markets
• Three new ‘buy’ tips and some ‘abnormally cheap’ stocks

What’s in the new remuneration policy? The structure of the current policy, which was approved at the 2021 AGM with 81.46% support, is unchanged. However, the remuneration committee is proposing quantum increases in order to “address market competitiveness and future-proof” for the next three years. For Russo, this will increase the incentive opportunity by 50% of salary to 250% across both the annual bonus and long-term incentive scheme. The committee said: “The positioning of the total package at maximum performance is around the upper quartile compared to FTSE 100 UK retail peers and reflects that it is vital we ensure our high-performing CEO is retained and remains motivated.”

How did last year’s AGM go? The annual remuneration report was approved with 97.30% of votes in favour.

How’s the company doing on diversity? Changes due to take place after the AGM will mean the proportion of female directors on the board increases to 50%, including in a senior role. At least one board member is from an ethnic minority background.