SkyCity chief set for $1.5m performance bonus

SkyCity managing director Evan Davies earned $1.4m in total last year. Picture / Brett Phibbs

Evan Davies, SkyCity Entertainment Group's managing director, could earn more from bonuses than from his base salary this year if shareholders approve his pay increase later this month.

This year Davies could make up to $1.5 million in performance bonuses alone, compared with a cap on his performance bonus last year of $900,000 - equal to his annual base salary.

At SkyCity's October 28 annual meeting, shareholders will decide whether to approve the increase. The incentive would be paid in a combination of cash, restricted ordinary shares and share rights.

SkyCity also proposes to increase his base salary by $50,000 to $950,000 for the year ended June 2006.

Last year, Davies earned a total of $1.44 million, $539,000 of which was performance based. In addition, SkyCity shareholders will decide this month whether the company can issue Davies $2.25 million in share rights and restricted shares over the next three years.

SkyCity included three independent appraisals of Davies' role to bolster the case for increasing his remuneration.

The reports by Egan Associates, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte determined that the proposed increases were fair and reasonable.

SkyCity said it considered the scope of Davies' role, the business challenges facing the company and the remuneration of chief executives in similar roles across Australasia.

SkyCity provided three independent evaluations of Davies' remuneration package the last time it came up for shareholder approval at the 2002 annual meeting.

Shareholders will also be voting on whether to re-elect retiring directors Patsy Reddy and Bill Trotter.