Pay of ICG boss Rothwell rises to €2.7m as outlook improves
IRISH Continental Group CEO Eamonn Rothwell saw his total remuneration soar almost 20pc last year to €2.76m as the value of restricted shares he was awarded jumped by €430,000.
ICG, which operates brands including Irish Ferries, said Mr Rothwell’s base pay of €538,000 last year increased by 2.5pc, which it added was in line with the increase awarded to all the group’s employees.
A former stockbroker, Mr Rothwell owns 15.4pc of ICG, a stake valued at more than €150m. He is the single largest shareholder in the group. ICG chairman John McGuckian told shareholders in the group’s new annual report that, despite the uncertainty regarding Brexit next year, “the economic outlook in our sphere of operations continues to improve”.
“We look forward to another year of volume growth in our markets of operation,” he said.
ICG has placed a €309m bet against Brexit, having ordered two huge new vessels that will operate across the Irish Sea and also to France.
In January, ICG exercised an option to have a new €165m vessel built at a German shipyard. The ship, which will operate on the Dublin-Holyhead route, will be delivered in 2020 and will be the largest cruise ferry in the world in terms of vehicle capacity.
It will carry 1,800 passengers and have 5,610 freight lane metres.
The German shipyard will also deliver the €154m, 50,000-tonne WB Yeats this summer.
ICG’s revenue rose 3pc last year to €335.1m, but its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) declined 3pc to €81m, mainly due to higher fuel costs.