Horizon chief nets €762,000 bonus

IT DISTRIBUTION company Horizon Technology paid chief financial officer Cathal O’Caoimh a bonus of €762,000 last year.

The company said the payment was in lieu of share options that should have been awarded to Mr O’Caoimh, which would have reduced the company’s earnings per share.

Having met the terms of Horizon’s incentive plan for senior executives Mr O’Caoimh was in line to be awarded more than 1.2 million share options.

But the company said that had the options been paid out, it would have cut the company’s 2006 reported earnings per share by 1.5%.

Instead it made the cash payment of €762,000, which brought Mr O’Caoimh’s pay packet to €1.1 million.

The company’s annual reports also shows that founder and chairman Samir Naji saw his pay cut from €319,000 to €305,000.

Chief executive Gary Coburn saw his pay rise from €264,000 to €310,000.

The two non-executive directors on the board each received €40,000.