AIM Directors show pay restraint

Whist the pay of senior executives in the UK’s major companies is constantly under scrutiny from the press in these days of austerity, the most recent research into Directors pay for AIM companies has shown that many CEO’s and Finance Directors are, on the whole, taking a responsible view of their remuneration packages. Over 40% reported that their pay had either stayed roughly the same or even reduced during 2012. The research showed that the median pay for senior executives now stands at £202,498 with a basic salary of £173,007. The median change from 2011 for AIM CEO’s pay was up 2.6 per cent, slightly above the rise of 1.9 per cent reported in a 2011 report into AIM Directors pay. However this prudent approach to remuneration was not demonstrated across all AIM companies. Over 100 AIM CEOs are earning over £500,000pa, which for AIM is an all-time high. Out of these 24 CEO’s reported earnings over £1 million. At the top of the tree for remuneration is Todd Kozel, chief executive of Iraqi Kurdistan-focused oil explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum. He received $22.2 million (£14.1 million) in 2011, of which $18.8 million was in the form of share-based bonuses. In 2011 the company's turnover was $6.9 million, which represents less than a third of what Mr Kozel was paid over the period. The size of AIM Company Boards varies considerably, as does the size and profitability of the 1,000 companies listed on the market. The median paid to the entire boards of AIM companies was £484,000. Commenting on the survey, John Holland, Managing Director of Flotation Consultants Holland Bendelow said, ‘AIM represents an enormous variety of companies, from those at pre-revenue stage to the largest companies capitalised at over a billion pounds. It’s therefore not surprising to see a wide range in executive remuneration. It does appear however, that as we teetering on the brink of a triple dip recession, the senior executives of AIM companies are in most cases, taking a sensible view about how much they pay themselves’ These results come on the back of a challenging year for the AIM stock market as new listings fell back on 2011 figures. Fundraising also came under some pressure, however the average number of daily trades on AIM increased to an all-time high, with an average of 827million shares traded every day, and the FTSE AIM all share index has climbed in recent months.