// Kingfisher suffers investor revolt as shareholders vote against outgoing CEO’s bonus pay
// 24.19% of Kingfisher’s investors took issue with the £522,000 bonus payout
// Laury was paid a total of just over £1.77m last year, up from £1.58m the previous year
Kingfisher has endured an investor revolt as almost a quarter of its shareholders objected to outgoing chief executive Véronique Laury’s bonus pay out.
Investors took issue with a £522,000 bonus to Laury, who announced her resignation after five years at the helm of the home improvements retailer.
Laury was paid a total of just over £1.77 million last year, up from £1.58 million the previous year by Kingfisher.
Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix, said it would discuss with its investors and provide a response within six months, after 24.19 per cent of them voted against its remuneration report.
Meanwhile, a small number of additional shareholders withheld their vote on Kingfisher’s boardroom pay.
Laury’s paycheck came after Kingfisher posted a minor improvement in revenues for the year to the end of January but a near-16 per cent drop in pre-tax profit to £573 million from £682 million the previous year.
However, a protest vote followed as proxy voting adviser, ISS, objected to the payment amid the company’s declining annual profits.
Laury joined the group at a time when Kingfisher was performing well in the UK but struggling in France, so she set a target to improve profits by £500 million by 2021.
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