AstraZeneca warned over bonus changes
Drug giant AstraZeneca is on course to fall out with shareholders at its April meeting after floating plans to lower the threshold for senior management bonuses.
AstraZeneca tied bonuses to earnings at or above $4.20 (£3) per share after a takeover offer from US rival Pfizer was rejected in 2014. The firm’s remuneration committee has discussed with investors the possibility of lowing it to $4 per share, City PM understands.
“It’s not acceptable to move the goalposts, especially when the performance measures were specifically connected to a particular value following a particular event,” Tim Bush, head of governance at shareholder advisory group Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) told City PM
Earlier this month AstraZeneca warned it’s forecasting a low to mid single-digit percentage decline in revenue and core earnings per share this year, partly due to the loss of its exclusivity on anti-cholesterol drug Crestor.