AFR: Toll bosses’ pay doubles to A$4.9m

Hundred dollar bill. Falling money isolated background. American cash.

03/08/2022

The Australian Financial Review reports:

The pay of Toll Group’s bosses doubled in 2021 as the logistics group swung back into profit after a $1.1 billion net loss a year earlier.

[$ stands for A$ in this story]

Toll’s key management, which include both executive board members like former CEO Thomas Knudsen and non-executive directors, were collectively paid $4.9 million in the 12 months to March 2022, up from $2.3 million a year earlier and $3.7 million in 2020, according to financial accounts filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Toll does not break out individual pay packets. The increase in pay is understood to be related to the company’s improved performance over the financial year.

Mr Knudsen replaced John Mullen as chairman on July 1 with company executive Alan Beacham taking over as managing director. Toll currently has eight board directors.

Toll’s financial accounts show it delivered a $45 million net profit for the year ending March 2022 and revenues of $6.4 billion, roughly flat on a year earlier. Profits at the logistics group, which sold its Global Express division to Allegro Funds [https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/inside-christine-holgate-and-allegro-s-toll-turnaround- 20220620-p5av5l] a year ago, were boosted by a lower loss on discontinued operations, which dropped to $131 million down from a $942 million loss a year earlier.

The company also cut a broad swathe of costs, including maintenance, energy, property, finance and operational expenses.

The annual report revealed that Japan Post’s guarantees over Toll’s external debt facilities, which were due to expire at the end of June 2022, have been extended another year to “a maximum date” of June 30, 2023.

Toll’s uncommitted bank facilities have been extended to the same date. The company had undrawn debt facilities of $570 million at the end of March, down from $882 million a year earlier.

Toll’s needs the guarantees because its liabilities still exceed its assets by $2.8 billion, reflecting a net asset deficiency of $958.4 million.

Toll said that it continued to have strong support from Japan Post. “In line with Japan Post’s strategic approach to debt management, Toll maintains a high proportion of short-term debt,” a company spokeswoman said.

“All Toll’s banking facilities are guaranteed and are being renewed without incident as they expire.”

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