The fall-out continues for Newcrest Mining after its horror year, with boss Greg Robinson’s annual pay cut by 27 per cent to $2.73 million.
The pay cut came as the company last month posted a massive annual net loss of $5.8 billion on the back of more than $6 billion in asset writedowns and restructuring costs and a disclosure scandal.
Chief executive Mr Robinson, finance director Gerard Bond and other executive managers will not receive pay rises in fiscal 2014 either.
Mr Robinson’s pay reflects the fact that he received no short-term bonuses in 2013, compared to about $700,000 the previous year. Those bonuses beefed up his $3.69 million-plus package in fiscal 2012.
Newcrest still paid out $544,000 in short-term incentives to executives but that was more than 85 per cent lower than the $3.69 million it paid the previous year.
“Reflective of Newcrest’s financial performance during the 2013 financial year, remuneration outcomes were considerably lower than in previous years,” the company said in a statement.
The last year’s performance would also affect three-year long-term bonuses when they vest in November, the company said.
Newcrest has struggled to protect earnings in the last year as costs stayed too high at some of its mines while the gold price plunged from $US1,700 an ounce in January to $US1,200 by the end of June.
The share price was trading at $13.30 on Monday afternoon, having more than halved in 12 months representing a loss of more than $12 billion in market capitalisation.
The regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, is investigating allegations Newcrest breached disclosure rules.
That relates to a series of broker downgrades in June that were made in the days leading up to it flagging $6 billion in writedowns, which Mr Robinson has admitted has damaged the company’s reputation.