More than 37% of shareholders vote against or abstain on vote including £9.4m pay package for pharmaceutical firm’s bossAstraZeneca has been rocked by one of the biggest shareholder revolts over executive pay this year, after more than a third of investors failed to back the pharmaceutical company’s remuneration report. More than 37% of shareholders voted against or abstained at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in London on Friday in the second rebuke by investors for the company in as many years. The rebellion opposed a £9.4m pay package for chief executive Pascal Soriot, even though this was a drop from £14.3m a year earlier, when the company suffered votes against its pay policy and warnings from shareholder advisory groups over its bonus plans. More than a third of Unilever investors registered opposition to its pay plans earlier this month, while Persimmon experienced a revolt against the “grossly excessive” £75m bonus handed to its chief executive, Jeff Fairburn. The payout was ultimately approved because nearly a third of shareholders abstained and of those who voted, 51.5% cast in favour and 48.5% against.

Source: The Guardian May 18, 2018 17:51 UTC