EOH Holdings paid its former CEO, Stephen van Coller, an ex gratia quantity of R15-million – along with his wage and bonus funds – when he resigned from the JSE-listed IT firm on the finish of March.
The cost was disclosed in EOH’s annual monetary statements for the yr ended 31 July 2024, which have been printed final week.
The ex gratia cost of R15-million represents nearly 2.5% of the corporate’s R644-million in interest-bearing financial institution loans as of the 2024 year-end on 31 July 2024.
A lot of Van Coller’s time at EOH was targeted on promoting firm property to cope with a distressed steadiness sheet that threatened to pull the enterprise down.
The cost additionally comes amid unhappiness amongst EOH shareholders concerning the firm’s remuneration coverage.
At its AGM final yr, EOH didn’t safe the required 75% approval for the remuneration coverage and a associated implementation report. Barely 50% of shareholders voted in favour (see desk beneath).
Van Coller’s mounted remuneration for the 2024 monetary yr – during which he labored at EOH for eight months – was R7.4-million, down from the R10.5-million he was paid in 2023 (for 12 months of labor).
He additionally acquired R3.2-million in short-term incentives plus the R15-million ex gratia award, bringing his complete remuneration for the interval to R25.7-million (or R32-million together with long-term share incentives that vested within the interval).
MTN bonus
In response to numerous definitions, an ex gratia cost is usually a goodwill quantity paid by an organization to a person for damages or claims, with out the agency admitting legal responsibility. EOH stated the cost was in recognition of a 2018 share possession plan (conditional shares), which Van Coller forfeited on the time.
Requested to touch upon Monday, Van Coller advised TechCentral that the cost – which he believes was R10-million, not R15-million – stemmed from his choice to forgo a bonus cost when he resigned from MTN Group to affix EOH in 2018.
Learn: EOH Holdings to be renamed
TechCentral understands that the cost was not a part of a negotiated exit from EOH however reasonably was supplied to Van Coller by the board, which he then accepted as settlement associated to his forgoing the MTN bonus to affix the IT providers firm. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
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