This is how much top managers earn in Austria » Leadersnet

In a study, the Investors’ Interest Association (IVA) looked at how much the salaries of board members and supervisory board members of Austrian companies listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange will rise in 2023. There is good news for the leaders of ATX Prime companies. According to the analysis, average compensation has risen again after 2022, when there was a recession. But the exceptions prove the rule here too.

Top 10 ATX CEO Salaries

Once again, BAWAG CEO Anas Abouzakouq earned the most (so far) in 2023 with €9.03 million, but in 2022 his salary still stands at €9.4 million. Things are quite different for the former CEO of Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG (SBO), Gerald Grohmann. While he earned “only” €3.2 million in 2022, it was €5.5 million last year, which corresponds to a proud increase of €2.2 million. In addition, Grohmann was able to look forward to a severance package of around €4 million due to his departure from SBO at the end of 2023.

1. Bawaj: 9.039 million euros
2. Schuler-Blickmann: €5.494 million
3. Andritz: €5.365 million
4. Wienerberger: €4.701 million
5. Meyer Meinhof: €3.906 million
6. OMV: €3.747 million
7. Balfinger: 3.078 million euros
8. Erste Group: €2.923 million
9. Vostalpine: €2.905 million
10. Austrian Post: 2.824 million euros

    Average value of all ATX Prime companies: €1.593 million

Total compensation

Abu Zaqouq's consolation: His fellow board members also had to cut their earnings. With a total of EUR 36.6 million (2022: EUR 38 million), BAWAG's managers are still in first place by a respectable margin. Second place goes to Andritz AG, where the entire board of directors received a total of EUR 20.8 million in 2023. This corresponds to an increase of EUR 3.8 million compared to 2022. The stock was supplemented by the members of the voestalpine board of directors. They came to a total of EUR 15.4 million, but they are still unlikely to be satisfied. After all, they received another EUR 22 million in 2022.

• Top 3 Compensation for the Entire Board of Directors

1. Bawaj: 36.6 million euros
2. Andritz AG: €20.8 million
3. Vostalpine: €15.4 million

Incidentally, the board members of newcomer EuroTelesites ended up on the other side of the ATX salary ranking in 2023, who, according to IVA, earned €354,000. The company is a radio tower company that was spun off from A1 (Leadernet (I mentioned).

As we mentioned at the beginning, the total compensation of ATX board members increased in the previous year. Specifically, the increase compared to 2022 was 3.85 percent, or around ten million euros. This brings the total compensation to 262 million euros. Since half of all board members received more than 4.8 million euros, the average increased by seven percent to 1,513 million euros compared to 2022. According to IVA, only 4,000 euros were added on average per person.

Variable compensation is on the rise.

Furthermore, the analysis shows that variable remuneration is becoming increasingly important among listed Austrian companies. On average, it already represents 40 percent of the salaries of board members. However, there are very large differences between individual companies. In 2023, for example, 75 percent of remuneration at crane manufacturer Palfinger depended on whether set targets were achieved. The proportion is similarly high at Andritz (74.5 percent). On the other hand, there are also companies that still completely refrain from offering variable compensation. This applies, for example, to FACC, Do & Co, Warmpex and UBM.

If you compare the salaries of the management board with those of the members of the supervisory board, the latter earn significantly less for their oversight duties. But they don’t have to starve, especially since the members of the management board often have multiple jobs. BAWAG employees also had the best time in 2023, with the members of its supervisory board receiving bonuses of EUR 1.515 million. EuroTelesites was also behind. The company has only been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since September 2023 and has not announced any bonuses for the members of the supervisory board.

www.iva.or.at