Exit pay costs for departing chiefs at NTR see remuneration hit €4m

Exit pay costs for its departing CEO and finance director pushed total directors’ remuneration at Dublin-based utility group, NTR up by over 60% last year to more than €4m.

The international renewable energy-focused investment group’s newly-published annual report — covering the 12 months to the end of March — shows that its 13-member board shared combined pay of almost €4.13m for the year.

This was up from a total of €2.56m for the previous 12 months and chiefly recognises the one-off exceptional payments made to former chief executive Michael McNicholas who departed last year to take the reins at Bord Gáis, and former chief financial officer, Neil Parkinson, who left in late 2013 after steering the group through a financial restructuring process, which culminated in a share redemption of €100m.

The two former directors’ exits triggered the payment of long-term incentive plan sums of €1m and €600,000 respectively.

Mr McNicholas and Mr Parkinson were replaced by former GE Money Ireland CEO Rosheen McGuckian and Marie Joyce — NTR’s former deputy CFO and head of its waste management and solar development units — respectively.

The former National Toll Roads last month reported profits of €31.4m for its financial year to the end of March; marking its first annual profit for seven years.

Speaking, recently, Ms McGuckian — who received total remuneration of €822,000 last year, according to the annual report — said the group had exceeded all its objectives, namely operational performance, asset value protection, cost reduction and cash generation.