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Shareholder dispute over executive pay reportedly hits Xstrata

Published on 6 May 2010 under category: legal

The board of Xstrata is once again facing a shareholder dispute over executive pay, it has been reported.

Following on from last year's troubles on the same issue, just 68.3 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of the mining company's latest executive remuneration proposals, the Times reported.

While this may represent a majority, the paper noted that such votes are "usually passed with the near-unanimous support of shareholders", suggesting that continued disquiet over top-level pay and bonuses could carry on being a matter of contention at annual general meetings.

Commenting on the development, a spokesman for Pensions Investment Research Consultants noted: "We would certainly argue that if you have a third of your shareholders opposing you over your remuneration report, it is a message that needs to be taken seriously."

It is believed that, moving forward, the shareholder conflict dispute resolution will focus on the recent pay increase for Xstrata's chief executive, as well as the retention bonuses paid to a number of fellow board members over the past year.

The Xstrata Group currently holds positions in seven major international commodity markets, including copper, nickel, vanadium and zinc.

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