Brows raised at R18.5m for Amplats CEO

ANGLO American Platinum CEO Chris Griffith had to answer tough questions this week about his R18.5-million package at a time when mineworkers have been lobbying hard for a R12 500 minimum monthly salary.

Amplats has faced a tough year, with its share price having fallen 42% in the past 12 months and operating profit down from R1.9-billion to R800-million. Operationally, it has also done badly, with a 17% drop in tons of platinum mined and 22% lower production per employee, after enduring the costliest strike to date in South Africa.

Griffith’s pay increased 5.7%, from R17.5-million to R18.5-million — which includes a basic salary of R7.4-million, a cash bonus of R3.5-million, a share bonus of R5.3-million and other benefits of nearly R2.4-million.

But during the AGM in Johannesburg this week, Amplats chairman Valli Moosa defended Griffith, saying he and the management had performed in an “exceptional” manner during a tough year.

Moosa said that thanks to Griffith, the company had moved swiftly to get back to full production as safely as possible after the massive strike — a month sooner than it had expected.

At the end of the strike last June, platinum companies agreed to hike the monthly pay of the lowest-paid workers by R1 000 each year for the next three years.

Moosa said all Amplats’s contractual agreements to supply platinum to its customers were honoured during the five-month strike.

“Management acquitted themselves very well during an unbelievably difficult time, and managed all stakeholders such as unions, government, the media and others exceptionally well,” he said.

However, in May last year, Griffith caused a fuss when, asked about Amplats’s decision to award R76.4-million in bonuses to 12 executives during the strike, he responded: “Must I run this company and deal with all this nonsense for nothing? I’m at work, I’m not on strike. I’m not demanding to be paid what I’m not worth.”

Griffith apologised, saying his remarks were “inappropriate”, “insensitive” and “the result of intense frustration”.

During this week’s AGM, Griffith said: “Yup, the last year was tough.” But he said Amplats had now been “rightsized” and that its operations would be profitable in future. Amplats’s operating profit fell last year, but, Griffith said,

Why in a tough year do they have to pay excessive bonuses?

Amplats did well to remain in the black.

In the end, 98.3% of shareholders voted to endorse Amplats’s remuneration policy, including its 78% parent, Anglo American.

Questions about the package came mainly from shareholder activist Theo Botha, who told Business Times: “If he gets paid that in a tough year, what will we have to pay him during a good year?”

He said the company essentially moved its targets to accommodate the impact of the strike and noted that Griffith was rated “above target” on the safety indicator despite three deaths at Amplats mines.

“Even though I agree that he did work hard to manage the strike, he gets paid a salary of close to R8-million to do that. Why in a tough year do they then also have to pay out these excessive bonuses?”