Shareholders in Royal Dutch Shell have been advised to oppose the oil giant’s “excessive” executive pay, which saw chief executive Peter Voser’s total remuneration double to more than £10m last year.
By Emily Gosden 7:15PM BST 19 May 2012
Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) urged its members to vote down the remuneration report at the firm’s annual meeting on Tuesday.
In the report, a copy of which has been seen by The Sunday Telegraph, Pirc argued: “Combined remuneration is excessive in the year under review with the chief executive officer receiving annual incentive and conditional long-term incentive plan (LTIP) awards worth 526pc of salary.”
Mr Voser’s base salary was £1.3m, but his pay package rose to £4.5m through annual bonuses and benefits. With shares from long-term plans included, total compensation reached £10.1m.
Shell, which in 2009 lost a vote over its remuneration report, is not thought to be expecting a revolt on that scale, despite the so-called “Shareholder Spring”.
A Shell spokesman said its “2011 outcomes reflect what was a positive year for the company”.