Shareholders are expected to become increasingly vocal about company director performance, as a growing number of boards seek shareholder approval to bump up their fee pool.
Most companies have kept their directors' fee pool reasonably stable since the start of the financial crisis but a number of boards plan to use their upcoming annual meetings to ask shareholders to approve fee increases.
Nuplex wants to increase its director fee pool by half from $1 million to $1.5 million, Skellerup is seeking shareholder approval to boost its fee pool by 48%, Michael Hill International wants a 44% increase, Sky City Entertainment wants 37% and Freightways almost 30%.
Shareholders Association chairman John Hawkins says the association is happy to approve fee increases but only if they are aligned with improved returns to shareholders.
