"In previous years they have sent those things out on December 16 ... I'm a bit disappointed, really."
He said the directors were not worth the pay rise because the company's share price had been abysmal. He said there had been plenty of capacity to increase the dividend the company paid to shareholders, but it had chosen not to.
Shareholders Association chairman John Hawkins said his organisation was not opposed to increases in pay for directors, provided they were warranted. He had examined Sanford's history since 2008 and found net profit had dropped 58 per cent and the return on equity was also down, while the chief executive's pay was up 27 per cent and directors' fees were up 26 per cent.
Sanford's chief executive, Eric Barratt, could not be reached for comment, but a spokeswoman directed inquiries to the company's annual report, which states that Sanfords' directors' fees are lower than the median levels of other publicly listed companies with market capital between $300 million and $600 million.
"The Sanford board fees pool was last increased in February 2008 (after a period of six years) from $250,000 to $400,000," the report says. "With the increase in the number of directors for whom fees are payable from six to seven, the base pool is automatically raised [to] $442,500.
"The board now proposes this pool be increased to $550,000, an increase of $107,500 or 24.3 per cent over the four years since 2008, to recognise the need to increase directors' fees to attract and retain suitably qualified candidates and to appropriately reflect directors' duties and responsibilities."
Hawkins had asked for an urgent meeting with the company's chairman to put forward a proposal for the company that he said might provide a better outcome. He did not want to say yet what the proposal was.
Hawkins said the timing of the release, just before Christmas, was unfortunate. "That's something we might discuss with the company as well. It's not giving people adequate notice."
Daniel said he would not usually attend the annual meeting but would do so this year to register his displeasure.