Morrisons share price: Chief executive pockets £1m bonus

Wm Morrison Supermarket’s (LON:MRW) chief executive David Potts has been awarded a £1-million bonus, the blue-chip supermarket has disclosed. The news comes after the grocer revealed last week that its like-for-like sales had climbed higher in the 13 weeks to May 1, in a sign that Morrisons’ recovery under Potts is continuing.

Morrisons’ share price has been subdued in today’s trading, having lost 0.52 percent to 190.20p as of 13:22 BST and underperforming the benchmark FTSE 100 index which has climbed into positive territory and currently stands 0.27 percent higher at 6,142.23 points. The shares have gained some five percent over the past year, and are up more than 28 percent in the year-to-date.
Morrisons disclosed in its annual report published on Friday that it had awarded a £1.1-million bonus to its chief executive David Potts , as part of his total pay package of £2.25 million. The former Tesco (LON:TSCO) executive, who took the reins at Morrisons a little over a year ago, has also been granted £2.6 million in long-term share awards which he could collect in February 2018 if he meets cash flow, profits and sales targets.

The Guardian noted in its coverage of the news that Potts’ bonus could potentially set Morrisons up for another confrontation with shareholders at its annual shareholder meeting next month after more than a third of shareholders voted against the grocer’s remuneration report last year.
Morrisons’ annual report follows the group’s quarterly update last week when the company disclosed that its like-for-like (LFL) sales, excluding fuel, had climbed 0.7 percent in the 13 weeks to May 1, helped by the supermarket’s online business. The group’s total sales meanwhile slipped 1.8 percent reflecting the impact of supermarket closures and exit of the M local chain.
Morrisons’ annual general meeting is scheduled on June 9.
As of 14:09 BST, Monday, 09 May, Wm. Morrison Supermarkets plc share price is 190.05p.