Just as it did two years ago, high executive salaries and benefits raised the ire of Barrick Gold shareholders at the annual general meeting held April 28 in Toronto. At the center of both occasions were the extraordinary compensation of chairman John Thornton.
In 2012, Thornton received a US$11.9-million "signing bonus" when he became Barrick co-chair, a title shared with founder Peter Munk. Thornton's total pay that year was US$17 million, a Canadian record. In 2014 he was awarded US$12.9 million in salary and benefits, despite the fact that the company's capitalization fell by one-third.
The resolution put before the recent AGM as to whether shareholders approve of the way Barrick compensates its executives drew a resounding no: 75% disapproved. The resolution was non-binding, but the company appears to have gotten the message.
Thornton promised the shareholders, “We will go back and refine our system, particularly as it relates to me. And with the goal next year of this vote being at minimum the opposite of the vote this year, and hopefully a lot better than that.”
Time will tell. Meanwhile, Barrick continues to struggle with debt and write-offs that are measured in the billions of dollars. The company has cut head office personnel as well as capital spending and has vowed to slash at least US$3 billion from its debt in 2015.
Barrick posted Q1 2015 revenues of US$2.25 billion and net earnings per share of US$0.05.
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