Jefferson Smurfit chairman Michael Smurfits 4.1m annual pay cheque has been slammed by shareholders at the groups AGM.


Shareholders Irish Life Investment Managers and Aberdeen Asset Management also voted against the resolution to re-elect the current directors, including Michael Smurfits brother Dermot. Bank of Ireland Asset Managers and AIB Asset Managers abstained in the vote.


A spokesman for Irish Life Investment Managers, which holds 2.6% of Smurfits shares, said: The vote reflected our view that the remunerations they [Smurfit directors] were enjoying was not comensurate with the shareholder return.


Under new Irish stock exchange rules, individual directors salaries have to be disclosed to shareholders.


Michael Smurfits salary is linked to the performance of the company and we recently had the second highest profit in the history of the company, said a Smurfit spokeswoman.


Last year pre-tax profits, which included plant closures and restructuring costs, increased to 280m from 167m in 1999 (PrintWeek, 23 February 2001).


But the total dividend to shareholders in the groups full year results for 2000 was 6.94 cents compared to 6.31 cents in 1999.


And the groups share price stood at 131p as PrintWeek went to press, 14.5p below its 52-week high but well above the low of 107.3p.


The resolution to authorise directors to fix the auditors remuneration was also initially voted against. These rejections led to a poll being held and the resolutions were carried, but not by an outright majority.


Story by Jeremy Allen