Bosses' pay goes up 25pc

Executives of New Zealand's largest companies enjoyed an average pay rise of 25 per cent last year.

A Business Herald survey, based on the annual reports of 38 companies, shows that Contact Energy chairman Phil Pryke had the biggest rise: his pay, including cash payments, benefits and bonuses, rose from $80,000 to almost $400,000. Four other Contact directors received similar increases.

Over a comparable period, the average income rose by 2.6 per cent to $29,000, company profits increased by around 5 per cent on average and the sharemarket rose by 25 per cent, measured by the NZSX-50 index.

Guinness Peat Group's Tony Gibbs was the highest-paid New Zealand executive, pocketing £1,396,188 ($3,763,310) for 2003. Figures for his 2004 remuneration were not available.

Gibbs was followed by Telecom's Theresa Gattung on $2,829,130, and Westpac chief executive Ann Sherry on A$2,433,651 ($2,646,423).