Although I think that the author of the article can’t tell the difference between correlation and causation, same goes for the comments …. here you go:
As Yellow Media crumbled, board took home 26% raise
SEAN SILCOFF
From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail
Published
While shareholders and the CEO of Yellow Media Inc.(YLO-T0.09-0.01-10.00%) took a big financial hit in 2011, one group of the company’s stakeholders fared much better: its board of directors.
A securities filing by the Montreal-based publisher of the Yellow Pages shows it paid a total of $1.74-million to its directors in 2011 – up 26 per cent from the year before.
Meanwhile, chief executive officer Marc Tellier saw his total compensation fall 90 per cent, to just below $900,000 in 2011, from $9-million in the prior year, because he failed to qualify for performance-based shares and options as the company’s fortunes crumbled. Mr. Tellier earned an $825,000 salary in 2011, unchanged from the previous two years.
Directors, however, didn’t suffer from lighter pockets in a year in which the company reported a $2.8-billion net loss; revenues and free cash flow declined steeply; it sold its Trader Capital division at a loss; and the stock plummeted by 97 per cent.
The basic retainer for board members in 2011 was unchanged from 2010: $110,000 for all except chairman Marc Reisch, who earned $260,000. Directors earned additional fees for participation on the board’s three regular committees, while three directors – Michael Boychuk, John Gaulding and Anthony Miller – received another $110,000 combined for joining a new financing committee, responsible for deciding how the company should refinance its $1.7-billion in net debt, including $255-million in notes that mature in 2013.
On Monday, rating agency DBRS downgraded junk-level Yellow’s credit rating, saying it had “made no progress in improving its liquidity position” in the first quarter.
Directors also received a combined $206,000 worth of “restricted shares,” compared to none the year before.
The company’s proxy circular, filed in advance of its May 8 annual meeting, shows Yellow paid consulting firm Towers Watson more than $300,000 last year, including close to $100,000 to help the company determine what to pay its top executives. The circular shows the consultant based suggested remuneration for the CEO and chief financial officer on what other Canadian companies of similar size paid their top officers. Those included Quebecor Inc.(QBR.B-T38.55-0.60-1.53%), Tim Hortons Inc.(THI-T54.08-0.02-0.04%), Westjet Airlines Ltd.(WJA-T13.42-0.06-0.45%), Gildan Activewear Inc.(GIL-T27.880.250.90%), CAE Inc. (CAE-T10.740.525.09%) and Astral Media Inc. (ACM.A-T48.60—-%) – companies that, unlike Yellow Media, aren’t suffering from steadily declining revenues in their core business.
The filing also shows that Yellow paid $1.6-million in severance to departed chief financial officer Christian Paupe.
25 comments
Sort:
sdc
8:53 PM on April 2, 2012
Nothing to look at here folks move along. Lets get back to regular scheduled program of blaming greedy unions.
Gunsharn
8:18 PM on April 2, 2012
1.6 million dollars for a useless CFO? Guess it pays to be horrible at what you do.
Bobsterr
9:13 PM on April 2, 2012
Talk about ill-gotten gains, these folks spend more time discussing how much to pay themselves than to steer YLO out of a hole.
Ill-gotten gains always somehow get repaid, in one form or another.
stono
12:18 AM on April 3, 2012
the stock market continues to the ideal way to transfer wealth from average joe schmoe to corporate executives…it really makes one sick that nothing can be done about this sort of thing which should be criminal
who’s your daddy
10:40 PM on April 2, 2012
I was advised to buy yellow pages in the fall of 2008 by Edward Jones and I paid a big fat commision for this advice . { go ahead and have a hahaha on me } In the following two years the price of this stock went from $ 9.75 to $2.00 .
In those same years the CEO averaged a salary of $9,000,000.00 per year.
who’s your daddy
11:03 PM on April 2, 2012
fiduciary: a duty not to be in a situation where personal interests and fiduciary duty conflict,
Except where you can make a bunch of money for doing next to nothing .
FS5513
1:54 AM on April 3, 2012
I wish someone would just put this company out of it’s misery if for no other reason than to put Tellier out of work. The stock has become worthles so it’s not as if this company should be considered an investment.
fishlakeadmirer
11:23 PM on April 2, 2012
What a sad comment on the Yellow Titanic’s mismanagement. Deny there are icebergs in the water. Have another bottle of champagne on the sun deck. Oh by the way guys we have the executive first class lifeboats over there. How sad that many people bought this miserable company based on assurances that all would be well. WELL?
JrSr
11:05 PM on April 2, 2012
Now working hard in the “wash trade” dept of you favorite Canadian bank! Not allot of oversight so I suppose working until 67 is the process needed by the average Canadian to help offset this “performance” compensation.
gar2
7:32 AM on April 3, 2012
There is no better example of of moral conflict, poor regulaiton and the clubiness of the Canadian investment communtiy than right here. Pathetic strategy and even worse execution is one thing. Support by the invetsment community, including major banks, for the son of a busienss superstar in the face of his incompetence speaks volumes. The Canadian stock market is where supposed stalwarts of our business establishment conspire with investment bankers to relieve the little people of their hard earned money. Hey securites regulator, do you ever intend to prosecute them for all their misleading statements???!!!
TVR
8:45 AM on April 3, 2012
And the financial services industry wonders why there is so much money sitting on the sidelines.
With a system that allows thieves like these to operate with impunity, is it any wonder? Unfortunately it’s just one of many similiar cases. So the next time some hedge fund buys a pig, dresses it up, and goes for an IPO 1-2 years later, stay clear!
BigFatCat
9:26 AM on April 3, 2012
The Yellow Submarine – submerged and never surfaced again.