Abbey boss sees pay rise 15% despite profit collapse
The boss of Irish housebuilding group Abbey saw his total pay surge by more than 15% last year, despite a fall in the group's profits and a cautious outlook regarding future trading.
According to the Co Meath-based group's newly-published annual report, executive chairman Charles Gallagher was paid a total of just under €1.28m for Abbey's latest financial year which runs to the end of April.
That figure represented a 15.25% increase on his previous year's pay and was largely made up of a near €1.24m basic salary.
Total annual pay for Abbey's three-member executive board - which also includes Abbey Developments managing director Lorenzo Fraquelli and subsidiary Kingscroft Developments managing director Nick Collins - rose 12% last year to just over €2m.
Last month, Abbey - which builds and sells houses in Ireland, the UK and the Czech Republic - reported a jump in annual group revenue from €218.5m to €230.9m, but a near 10% fall in pre-tax profit to €53m.
Turnover in its core housebuilding division marginally rose to €209.1m, but the division's operating profit fell more than €6m to €48m.
While Abbey said it is trading profitably in the current year, it said a lower contribution from its UK housing division will probably have a negative impact on group profit. Overall, it said its outlook "continues to be uncertain".
An "abrupt" withdrawal of the UK's 'help to buy' scheme would have "a material impact on our business," Abbey said.
