Whitehaven Coal is putting shareholder returns and future income at risk.
We urge our fellow Whitehaven Coal shareholders to vote AGAINST the company’s remuneration plan, the Single Incentive Plan for the Managing Director, and the election of three company directors at the upcoming AGM on October 26th.
The proposed incentives for the Managing Director are highly unusual** and encourage acquisitions over optimising shareholder returns and the responsible management of capital.
They are highly inappropriate and must be rejected along with the Remuneration Report.
**When compared to competitors and ASX50 companies, including BHP, Rio Tinto, New Hope Corporation, Boral, Telstra, Newcrest, AGL, CSR, Lynas, Commonwealth Bank, and others.
In 2023, even with its recent rally, Whitehaven Coal has significantly underperformed its peers (Yancoal, New Hope).
Dividends are lower.
Buybacks are on hold.
Meanwhile, CEO Paul Flynn receives three times the pay* of his peers after receiving an 85% remuneration increase in 2022 and a further 26% this year.
As the company takes on greater risks, Whitehaven has dropped Total Shareholder Returns from management KPIs.
TSR is an industry standard measure used by most ASX 100 companies.
Instead, executives could now receive millions in bonuses even if they lose shareholders’ money.
Our views on Whitehaven's management are shared by leading proxy advisor, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).
ISS has recommended voting AGAINST Whitehaven's remuneration report, and AGAINST the SIP at the 2023 AGM.
ISS highlight the poor disclosures from Whitehaven's board on executive incentive structures and outline a "heightened risk of misalignment with shareholder interests" at Whitehaven.
Shareholders should not stand for this cavalier approach that removes incentives to prioritise shareholder interests.
We say shareholders should vote:
1. AGAINST Whitehaven’s 2023 Remuneration Report
2. AGAINST the Single Incentive Plan for the Managing Director
3. AGAINST the re-election of Raymond Zage
4. AGAINST the election of Nicole Brook
5. AGAINST the election of Wallis Graham
Vote AGAINST Resolutions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 at the Whitehaven AGM on October 26.
*Calculated based on a basket of peers identified by Whitehaven Coal in their 2023 Annual Report. Peers include AGL Energy; APA Group; Beach Energy; BlueScope Steel; Boral; Evolution Mining; Iluka Resources; Lynas Rare Earths; Mineral Resource; New Hope Corporation; Yancoal Australia; and others. Average CEO Remuneration for this group was AUD3,435,539