Here’s how much top CEOs and executives earn in South Africa
Professional services company PwC has published its report on South African executive directors for 2023, highlighting how much top management is earning in the country right now.
The report analysed executive pay during the period from 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2023, focusing primarily on executive remuneration among companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
The group noted that, in instances where executive directors have resigned from their roles on or before the cut-off date, they were excluded from the data set. Executive directors appointed after the company’s financial year-end have also been excluded from the analysis.
It added that, where directors were paid in foreign currency, their remunerations were concerted into rands using a one-year average exchange rate as of 28 February 2023.
Total guaranteed package
The financial services firm provided a snapshot of the average TGP across three quartiles: lower – median – and upper – on the top 200 JSE-listed companies.
As directors’ fees rarely follow a standard distribution curve, PwC used quartile/percentage range rather than averages. The firm also focused on the ‘total guaranteed package’ (TGP), which represents the portion of total remuneration regardless of employee performance. It is a fixed cost made up of basic pay plus a cash value attributable to benefits.
An examination of TGP fees paid across the JSE shows that the average salary for chief executive officers (CEOs) was R9.36 million over the period.
By comparison, the average pay for chief financial officers (CFOs) was R5.93 million, and the average pay for executive directors was R4.84 million.
Super caps
Super caps represent the top 10 companies on the JSE, valued by market capitalisation.
The salaries paid to executives at these salaries reflect their size and value, with some chief executives earning almost three times the JSE average.
An examination of fees paid across the JSE’s super caps shows that the average salary for the top CEOs was R25.3 million, while the average pay for CFOs was R18.78 million.
Interestingly, this average CEO pay represents an 8.8% decline from the R27.74 million recorded in 2022, while the pay for CFOs has increased year-on-year by 4.4% from R17.99 in 2022.
Short-term incentives
Short-term incentives (STIs) are cash payments that are intended to remunerate executive directors for the achievement of annual business and personal goals.
In its analysis, PwC noted that global trends related to ESG factors and targets in executive pay have emerged over the last three years. ESG targets are increasingly prevalent in the company pay structures, but the most common category in the STIs is social targets (diversity, employee engagement, health, and safety).
The data shows that the average STIs across the JSE was R6.35 million, with chief executives typically earning around R9.62 million. By comparison, the average STIs paid to chief financial officers (CFOs) was R4.88 million, and the average pay for executive directors was R3.79 million.
As with the pay data, this number rises significantly at large-cap companies, where the average STI is R29.16 million for CEOs and R17.71 million for CFOs in 2023.
Loading ...