Mr Price’s new CEO earns R7m for 3 months’ work

Mr Price Group’s remuneration policy faced stiff opposition from shareholders, with many voting against it at last week’s Annual General Meeting.
Results of the meeting show that investors representing more than a third of the shareholding in the company voted against the remuneration policy.
“Mr Price Group is disappointed at the overall result of the voting on these resolutions, particularly given the positive results of the remuneration resolutions at the 2018 AGM and the policy and implementation adjustments that have been made over the course of the 2019 financial year,” the company said in a statement.
The Durban-based company said it would engage dissatisfied shareholders to hear “their reasons for their dissenting votes” on the matter.
Its annual report shows that former chief executive Stuart Bird, who retired at the end of last year, received total remuneration of around R23 million for the year, which was R6 million lower than the previous year.
His performance bonus, which was linked to profit and strategic targets, fell from R11 million to less than R4 million. In the year to end-March, Mr Price’s revenue grew by 5,8 percent to R22,6 billion, with headline earnings up 6,2 percent.
The new incoming chief executive (and former chief financial officer), Mark Blair, earned more than R7 million in his first three months on the job (January to end-March) — including a performance bonus of almost R2 million.
In total he received R20,3 million for the past year (which included nine months as chief financial officer).
The share price of Mr Price Group, which includes stores such as MRP Home, MRP Sport, Sheet Street and Miladys, has fallen by a third over the past year.
Last week, the company warned that sales at its core Mr Price clothing stores fell by more than 5percent over the past four months. Group sales were 2,5 percent lower.
— Fin24