Yageo Corp (國巨) is to pay its directors a total of NT$1.03 billion (US$33.37 million) in compensation, the highest figure among firms listed on the main bourse, Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TWSE) statistics showed yesterday.
The figure is a more than a fivefold increase from the NT$195.39 million the passive components maker paid its directors last year, when it ranked seventh, the statistics showed.
Each of Yageo’s nine directors, including chairman Pierre Chen (陳泰銘) and chief executive officer Dora Chang (張綺雯), would receive NT$114.24 million, up from NT$21.7 million last year, the statistics showed.
Yageo allocates 3.03 percent of its annual net profit to directors’ compensation, according to its governance strategy. The firm has set up a compensation committee comprised of three independent directors to review the payments.
The company last year made NT$33.11 billion in net profit, compared with NT$8.57 billion in 2017, with earnings per share surging to NT$80.3 from NT$13.05.
CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) ranked second with total compensation of NT$380.09 million, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) with NT$378.09 million, the statistics showed.
TSMC saw its ranking fall one notch from second place last year, when it was the nation’s most profitable listed company.
This year, it set aside 0.1 percent of its annual net profit for compensation payments, while CTBC’s compensation pay ratio was 1.05 percent.
Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), the nation’s biggest food and beverage conglomerate, ranked fourth with compensation payments of NT$320.22 million.
The company last year ranked third with compensation payments of NT$369.62 million.
Memorychip maker Macronix International Co (旺宏電子) entered the top 10 list for the first time this year. It plans to pay total compensation of NT$230.74 million to its board members, with a payout ratio of 2.56 percent.
Financial services providers and companies from non-tech sectors are usually more generous in paying compensation, making up a bigger portion of the list, the TWSE said.
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