Woolworths CEO scores massive R65 million payday – a 50% cut from last year

Woolworths CEO Roy Bagattini earned R65 million in the last financial year – a major cut from the previous year.

For the 53 weeks ended 30 June 2024 (FY24), Woolworths’s group turnover increased by 6.5% to R77.3 billion, but its operating profit dropped by 10% to R6.0 billion.

Headline earnings per share also dropped 30% from 514.7 cents per share to 364.2, while the total dividend per share fell by 15.2% from 313 cents per share to 265 cents per share.

The group said that South Africa and Australia’s increasingly challenging trading environment hurt its results.

The widely reported issues in South Africa hit business operations at the nation’s ports for most of the period. In the first half of the period, taxi strikes and the Avian flu outbreak were also serious problems faced by the group.

In Australia, the group was impacted by consistent interest rate increases and higher living costs, which affected consumer confidence, footfall and spending.

The group’s key financial results for the period can be found below:

Amidst the group’s challenges, Bagattini saw his single-figure remuneration drop from R122.5 million in the previous year to R65.3 million in FY24 – a 47.7% reduction from the previous year.

The CEO’s performance bonus dropped from R28 million in FY23 to R4.8 million in FY24, while the fair value of his shares dropped from R66.8 million to R30.4 million.

There have been changes at the company’s finance director.

Former CFO Reeza Isaacs, who left the group in 2023, earned R36.3 million in his final year.

Isaacs is set to become the CFO of the Spar group at the start of 2025.

Isaacs’s replacement, Zaid Manjhra, received R5.2 million for the year after being permanently appointed in December 2023, and his pay reflected the seven-month period.

Over the period, Sam Nugemeni, the group’s Chief Operating Officer in FY24, saw his pay drop from R97.1 million in FY23 to R20.9 million.

Effective 1 July 2024, Ngumeni switched roles and became the CEO of Woolworths Foods. He replaced Zyda Rylands, who retired at the end of August.

The total pay package for the group’s three executives:

Share sales

Since the end of the financial year, Baggatini has sold millions of shares.

Woolworths said its CEO sold 395,314 for a total value of R26.2 million on 4 October 2024.

Woolworths said the sale was made to rebalance his portfolio and settle some of his tax obligations arising from the vesting of Woolworths’s retention share plan (RSP).

However, he was not the only executive who sold shares for millions.

Ngumeni sold shares for R37.8 million on 25 September 2024, along with several other directors:

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