Seven West Media capped off a transformative 12 months yesterday, posting a net end-of-year profit of $318 million.
The profit boom was on the back of a revenue increase of 3.5 per cent – led primarily by the revival of the local advertising market and the growth of 7Plus – and a 7.5 per cent reduction in costs.
And according to the results, the man who has been responsible for leading the network since 2019, CEO James Warburton is being remunerated well for his efforts.
According to The Australian, Warburton received a total package of $7.6 million, which was made up of his base pay of $1.27 million and a number of incentive schemes.
Warburton’s fixed remuneration has remained unchanged since his appointment in August 2019, according to the annual report.
Under the ‘Directors’ interest in securities’ section of the annual report, Seven West Media disclosed Warburton’s 22.5 million performance rights holding.
Warburton was also granted $2.36 million in equity under the STI and LTI plans to the Executive KMP during FY21.
The remuneration package comes after Warburton forfeited equity awards of $602,027 during the COVID affected FY20.
In the peak of the COVID-led economic downturn last April, all Seven West Media employees earning over $200,000 were asked to take a 20 per cent salary reduction.