NZX board seeks 16% fee bump at Weldon's swansong AGM
The board of NZX, the stock exchange operator, will ask shareholders for a 16 percent increase in their fee pool at outgoing chief executive Mark Weldon's final annual meeting.
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The board of NZX, the stock exchange operator, will ask shareholders for a 16 percent increase in their fee pool at outgoing chief executive Mark Weldon’s final annual meeting.
The board wants to boost the pool for directors’ fees to $435,000 from the existing $375,000, the first such increase in seven years, during which the company’s grown substantially, according to the NZX’s notice of meeting. While the board will take the same $350,000 in fees this year as it did last, it says the bigger pool will give the boardroom headroom for any extra work they do.
The request will come at Weldon’s final meeting as stock exchange boss, where shareholders will also vote on approving the company’s $35 million capital return. The meeting will be held on April 30 at NZX headquarters in Wellington.
Directors’ fees have been a bone of contention for investor groups in the last financial year, with companies ranging from Fletcher Building to Opus International Consultants looking to boost their pool. Large institutional investors have taken each request on their merits, and resins maker Nuplex Industries ultimately backed down on its attempt to increase the pool.
NZX shares fell 1.1 percent to $2.80 in trading today.
The annual report, released along with the notice of meeting, says Weldon was paid $1.13 million in his last year as chief executive, down from $1.3 million the previous year.
Weldon sold a large parcel of his personal shareholding to purchase a property last year and continues to hold approximately 5.5 million NZX shares, making him the one of company’s largest shareholder with around 4.5 percent of the company, down from 6.6 percent last year.
He will be eligible for the proceeds of the capital return to the extent of his shareholding, around $1.5 million.
Paul McBeth
Wed, 28 Mar 2012
Wed, 28 Mar 2012
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NZX board seeks 16% fee bump at Weldon's swansong AGM
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