LONDON, (Reuters) – Cable & Wireless Worldwide suffered a backlash from investors over executive bonuses yesterday, reflecting shareholder anger at chairman John Pluthero being given a second stint as chief executive after the group issued a string of profit warnings.
Shareholders representing nearly a third of the stock voted against an incentive plan that could reward Pluthero shares worth 2 million pounds ($3.3 million) on top of his 675,000-pounds salary in the current financial year.
Pluthero had already received 10.2 million pounds under a private-equity style incentive plan in the three years leading up to the split of the former Cable & Wireless in March 2010. He was re-installed as chief executive when Jim Marsh stood down in June after C&W Worldwide, which mainly serves corporations in the UK, issued its third profit warning in less than a year.
Current chairman John Barton told the group’s AGM that it had been a “dreadful” year for shareholders, who have seen the value of their investment fall by more than 45 percent since the demerger.