Myer directors have taken a pay cut and will be pushed to buy up shares in the troubled department store operator, as the company tries to stave off a second shareholder strike on pay and with it, a potential board spill.

Meanwhile, the total pay packet of the company's new chief executive, John King, will remain frozen at the same overall value as that of his predecessor, Richard Umbers, at $1.2 million. Mr King, who joined the company in June, will not receive any short-term bonuses until 2020, the company said.

Myer's chairman, Garry Hounsell, saw his pay packet cut by $50,000 to $300,000 in the wake of the group's almost half-billion loss reported in September - with his pay already sliced from the $400,000 paid in 2017.

Myer CEO John King, who joined the company in June, will not receive any short-term bonuses until 2020

The board's non-executive directors will take a $30,000 cut in their fee, which will drop to $120,000. They will also need to purchase shares in the company worth at least one year's fee - a requirement they will need to meet within three years.

Myer faces the risk of a second strike on pay at its November 30 AGM, after shareholders handed the company a 29.3 per cent vote against its remuneration report last year. Companies including Telstra and Tabcorp have already received strikes amid a fractious AGM season, while APA narrowly avoided a strike on Thursday.

Fellow retailer JB Hi-Fi also came close on Thursday, with a 21.65 per cent vote against its remuneration report.

Under Australia's two-strikes ruke, two successive shareholder votes against a company's remuneration report over two years trigger a resolution on whether to spill the board. This would be a particularly intriguing prospect at Myer, where directors are bracing for another stoush with dissident shareholder Solomon Lew after he recently requested an update of the retailer's share registry.

Mr Lew, whose listed Premier Investments owns almost 11 per cent of Myer, has been a vocal critic of the company and has agitated for his own directors to be appointed to the board.

The retailer's annual report, released to the securities exchange on Thursday, also revealed that Mr Umbers received a termination payout of more than $540,000, which Myer said was the minimum payment required under the terms of his employment.

Mr Umbers stepped down from the under-siege department store chain in February, amid falling sales and profits.

Mr King will also be required to hold shares worth 75 per cent of his annual salary package, Myer said. Shares closed 3 per cent down to 47.5c.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google Plus

RELATED POSTS