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The world’s most valuable miner BHP Billiton announced in its 2014 annual report that its top management won’t be getting any pay rise for 2015.
The Melbourne-based company is implementing a pay freeze for chief executive Andrew Mackenzie in 2015 after his first full year on the job.
At roughly $8 million for the year, Mackenzie’s pay package was already only half that of his predecessor Marius Kloppers before he stepped down.
The remuneration committee of the Anglo-Australian giant said: “Last year, when Mr Mackenzie was appointed to the chief executive role, the board and committee believed that some downward rebasing of his remuneration package, relative to that of the former chief executive, was appropriate – a view supported by Mr Mackenzie.”
Rio Tinto’s CEO Sam Walsh earned just over $10 million in 2013, also his first year at the helm of the world second largest miner. That’s more than double his predecessor Tom Albanese’s package during his final tenure.
The entire senior management team of some 26 members of the $160 billion company will also have to make do with the same pay next year, while non-execs haven’t seen a wage increase since 2010.
Senior managers make between $2.5 million and $4.3 million while non-execs have a base salary of $170,000 per year which can rise by more than $100,000 after fees for committee membership and travel allowances. Chairman Jac Nasser takes home $1.1 million.
BHP also said that a US Securities and Exchange Commission anti-corruption investigation dating back to August 2009 is currently being discussed for a potential resolution.
An internal investigation uncovered possible violations of anti-corruption laws involving interactions with government officials, BHP said adding that “the issues relate primarily to matters in connection with previously terminated exploration and development efforts, as well as hospitality provided as part of the Company’s sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.”
BHP is in the process of spinning off assets to be listed separately in Australia, South Africa and London. The new company could be worth as much as $15 billion.
3 Comments
An Insider Who Knows
All the mining execs should be making allot less considering the value they destroy and sticking it to the shareholders. Mining as an industry is one of the most over capitalized and these guys can’t think a new thought except the bigger hammer mentality they apply to everything. They could avoid probably about 85% of their expansion activity if they would focus on operational excellence and really drive good practice for the same equivalent return. Having worked at all the top mining companies I know from where I speak, their Maintenance costs to Asset Replacement Value ratio range from 6% to 18% most exceed 8% while world class industries come in consistent at 2% to 4%. The one thing miners know how to do is murder equipment. Marius Kloppers wiped out 15 years of good work in the Asset Management area with his idiotic understanding of the operations and followed by his subsequent OneSAP dictates. I could go on and on and on. If the share holders really knew how these companies treated their investment they would demand more accountability and outside scrutiny with inside involvement. It is nothing short of shameful.
LAMB
Most Mining Execs are not worth the high wages being paid to them and most do not understand what Mining is at all since the latest trend is to put Accountants in charge.
I always remember when BOLIDEN from Sweden was taken over by ‘Marketing’ people – they kicked out a President who had come up the ranks as a Miner, knew the business and understood the needs of the business. The new owners shut down a new project I was developing – after $21 million spent – these idiots sold the whole project for $1 million – a high grade 5% copper project in the USA. Cypress bought it and made millions mining and producing copper concentrates.
Mining is poorly understood as a business, especially by Execs who only have an MBA and no Mining experience.
B Williams
If you look at his background Andrew Mackenzie has a bachelors in geology, a PhD in Chemistry, postdoc in earth sciences and he was Chief Reservoir Engineer at BP earlier in his career so I don’t think you can class him as an accountant.