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Around 30% of shareholders at Ocado have voted against a measure that would see CEO Tim Steiner receive a £2m pay packet.
In its AGM held yesterday (2 May), 492,647,838, or 70% of votes were in favour of the remuneration package while 212,534,897 votes were against it.
It comes as Steiner was handed a £755,000 salary for the year and an annual bonus payment of £1.19m, despite the fact the online grocer saw full-year losses widen to £500m, as it said its retail revenues struggled amid the cost of living crisis.
Group revenues remained relatively flat at £2.5bn for the year ended 27 November 2022, but retail revenues fell by 3.8% from £2.28bn to £2.08bn as it revealed customer growth was offset by lower value baskets.
The group also reported an EBITDA loss of £74m, compared with a profit of £61m in FY21, as a result of cost pressures and capacity investments made to support growth at Ocado Retail.
It said the most significant of these has been a volume drag resulting from the end of large basket shopping behaviours of the pandemic, and accelerated by the current cost-of-living crisis in the UK.
In its latest update, the board said it “continues to believe that the implementation of the current Directors’ Remuneration Policy, which was approved at the 2022 annual general meeting, offers the best way to incentivise management and drive exceptional and sustainable long-term growth of the group while also rewarding short-term operational and strategic decisions”.
