Lyttelton Port CEO’s salary exceeds $1m

Lyttelton Port chief executive Peter Davie has received a big million dollar-plus pay package in the 2013 financial year, confirming him as the highest paid executive within a group of city council companies.

Davie was paid a combined package of $1.05 million, up nearly 3 per cent from $1.02m the previous year, the Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC) annual report shows.

The $1.05m package for the year to June 30, 2013 included a fixed remuneration of $474,000, a shortterm incentive of $160,000 and a long-term incentive of $413,000.

That compares to the 2012 fixed remuneration of $454,000, a shortterm incentive of $170,000 and a long-term incentive of $397,000, totalling $1.021m.

In 2012 his salary generated some controversy. Former Christchurch mayor Bob Parker said that the total was nearly $600,000 more than the year before. Parker said some people might have been "disappointed" Davie accepted such a significant package boost.

Yesterday David Faulkner, chairman of Port Otago which has a 15.47 per cent stake in LPC, said Davie was on ‘‘quite a substantial package’’.

The company said fixed remuneration was determined in relation to the market for companies of comparable size and per- formance. For the short-term incentive, the board assessed the chief executive’s performance against financial, operational and leadership objectives.

The short-term incentive was set at 40 per cent of fixed remuneration. Thirty per cent of the total was linked to LPC’s financial performance, and 70 per cent was based on achieving strategic objectives.

The long-term incentive was based on earnings per share growth over a rolling three-year period compared to benchmarks set for performance.

Chairman Trevor Burt said Davie’s remuneration was in the top quartile compared to other bosses of ports and companies of a similar size. It reflected a good performance.

The long-term incentive scheme completed its fifth and final cycle on June 30, 2013, the company said. The remuneration committee was talking with senior management about replacing it.

Directors’ fees paid during the year included $80,967 paid to chairman Rodger Fisher, who stood down on June 30. Director Trevor Burt was paid $56,033. Burt took over the chairman’s role with LPC from July 1.

Davie said in the annual report that further volume growth was expected in the coming year as the rural economies of Canterbury and the wider South Island powered on, and as the Christchurch rebuild progressed.

"The new and expanded container and conventional liner services will attract further cargoes to Lyttelton and offer enhanced connectivity for the South Island’s importers and exporters," he said.

The port was looking to progress claims with its insurers.