Premier Oil’s outgoing boss – Simon Lockett – saw his annual bonus nearly halved amid a profits slump at the North Sea operator during 2013.
The firm’s latest annual report shows Mr Lockett, who revealed in February that he was quitting as chief executive after nearly a decade at the helm, earned a £133,200 bonus last year.
This was down from £238,500 the year before as Premier suffered a near-21% slide in pre-tax profits to £171million.
Mr Lockett’s total remuneration last year came to just over £1million – a lot less than the £2.73million he got in 2012, when his earnings were boosted by long-term incentive payments (LTIP) of around £1.75million.
Four other executive directors at the London-based company earned pay packages totalling more than £500,000 last year, although in each case their remuneration was down from £1million-plus packages buoyed by LTIP in 2012.
These were Tony Durrant, Robin Allen, Neil Hawkings and Andrew Lodge, the directors responsible for finance, business units, the Falklands and exploration respectively.
Remuneration committee chairwoman Jane Hinkley said the firm aimed to make sure its bosses’ pay related to performance, served shareholders’ interests and reflected its business strategy.
She added: “The committee is mindful of the need to demonstrate the link between remuneration and performance of the company and is satisfied that the incentive outcomes in 2013 prove this to be the case.
“In determining the 2013 annual bonus awards the committee assessed performance against a scorecard of financial and operational measures, as well as individual performance.
“Only a proportion of the scorecard targets were achieved, resulting in bonus awards to the executive directors of no more than 26% of salary.”
Mr Lockett has agreed to remain at the helm until a replacement is found.