Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has survived a rebellion by big pension funds to pass a motion granting bosses bigger bonuses.
Three Danish pension funds, ATP, LD Fonde and Akademikerpension, voted against the new remuneration policy for the executive board at the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday.
Norwegian pension fund KLP voted in favour, however, Maritime Danmark reported.
Top managers will now be eligible for a bonus of up to 200% of their fixed salaries. This is up from 100% previously.
The group has been posting record earnings running to $29bn in the recent container shipping boom.
The Danish funds said the change could mean overall rewards for bosses would become too high.
But Maersk chairman Robert Maersk Uggla said views differ on how incentive programmes should work.
“The board of Maersk would like to see a closer connection between remuneration and the company’s results,” he said. “Therefore, we are moving towards a smaller share of basic salary and a larger share of variable salary.”
Uggla explained this means that if management does not deliver on short-term and long-term goals, they will see remuneration fall.
“We believe it is best in line with the long-term interests of the shareholders,” the chairman added.
Share awards scrutinised
Norwegian pension fund KLP analyst Karolina Malusauskaite told the Borsen daily: “It is positive to see that the updated remuneration policy addresses the shareholders’ concerns.”
The fund believes the new policy will not now make use of share awards without performance being taken into account.
Employee unions also raised concerns by writing to the board.
They claimed nine Maersk and contracting staff were killed at work in 2022.
And the unions said Maersk’s tug division Svitzer has been attempting to cut workers’ pay by 47% in Australia.
They also claimed that the group's workers pay more in tax than the company does.
The AGM was online only this year due to Maersk’s internal restructuring.
