THE former chief executive of Waterford Crystal, Dr Paddy Galvin, and four of his colleagues on the board of Waterford Wedgwood are to share a long term incentive bonus of £2.2 million, which will be paid out later this year.
The other directors to benefit from the bonus are the current chief executive of Waterford Crystal, Mr Redmond O'Donoghue, the chief executive of Wedgwood, Mr Brian Patterson; finance director Mr Richard Barnes and the chief executive of Waterford Wedgwood USA, Mr Chris McGillivary.
The five will receive the £2.2 million bonus, two thirds in cash and one third in Waterford Wedgwood shares which will be held in trust for them for three years before being released to the directors.
Details of the long term incentive bonus are included in the Waterford Wedgwood annual report which shows that, when the long term bonus is excluded, directors' payments rose from £1.87 million to just over £2 million. Salaries paid fell from £980,000 to £926,000.
The annual bonus rose from £232,000 to £387,000, reflecting the strong performance last year by the group, when profits rose by 24 per cent to almost £35 million. Pension contributions were increased from £170,000 to £248,000.
As in 1995, when the annual report included a compensation payment for former director Mr Kneale Ashwell, the current annual report includes a payment of £332,000 for compensation for loss of office. This is understood to refer to Mr Roger Little, former chief operating officer of Wedgwood who left the board in May 1996.
