FOUR executive directors of Kingspan, the Cavan building products group, received a tax free royalty payment of £843,000 between them in 1995. This is down on the tax free payment of £1.025 million they received in 1994.

On top of that, they increased their emoluments - salary plus benefit in kind. This is reflected in the increase in emoluments for the five executive directors from £218,000 in 1994 to £305,000 in 1995.

The four directors receiving royalty payments - Mr Eugene Murtagh, Mr Brendan Murtagh, Mr Eoin McCarthy and Mr Dermot Mulvihill - have now received a total tax free payment of £3.2 million. This was received under a licence agreement with Thermal Product Developments, a company which had been controlled by the four directors.

There will be a further one month payment, for January 1996, but the payments have now ceased following the transfer of that company to Kingspan on May 2nd.

Under an agreement, sanctioned by the shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting in March, the four directors will receive a tax free payment of £4.3 million in return for transferring Thermal Product Developments to Kingspan.

The payment will be made over a four year period. The benefits from the royalty company will now flow to Kingspan. The contribution this year will be for an 11 month period.

The three non executive directors - Mr Kevin O'Connell, Mr Danny Kitchen and Dr Rory O'Hanlon - received fees of £31,000, up from £20,000 in 1994.

The fifth executive director, Mr Jim Paul, had a loan of £32,840 from the company which was outstanding at the end of 1995. The non interest bearing loan, in relation of relocation expenses, was made in 1994.

A spokesman for Kingspan said he could make "no comment" on the possibility that the company might make a bid for Ward Building Systems.