how much does peter landau now earn?

Range Resources: how much does Peter Landau now earn?
BY BEN TURNEY — WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2014

In a week’s time, Range Resources (RRL) hosts an investor conference call. It promises to be lively. With questions outstanding about the non-disclosure of the $6.5million Platinum Partners loans and Range’s true unrestricted cash position, attention now turns to non-executive director Peter Landau’s pay packet. Brace yourselves...

As Chief Executive, Mr Landau’s salary was a staggering $494,248 in the financial year to June 30th 2013. Given the abysmal performance of Range’s share price, this amount has been hard to stomach for long-suffering shareholders. This group would now do well to ask how much Mr Landau continues to earn in his newly reduced role.

You may or may not remember, but in 2013 Mr Landau received a whopping pay increase. In the financial year to June 30th 2012, he earned an extremely generous $309,677. In the year that followed, Range’s share price fell from an open of 7.2p on July 2nd 2012 to a close of 2.93p on June 28th 2013. Of course, what has happened since has been even worse, but it was highly controversial that a Chief Executive, who had overseen a 60% wipe out in the value of his company’s stock, felt it justifiable to accept a near $200,000 pay increase.

Had Mr Landau turned Range’s fortunes around, then perhaps his $494,248 salary might have been justified, but 2.93p is now a distant dream. Shareholders today would likely snap your arm off if you offered them half that price for their miserable stock, which currently trades at 0.69p, last seen.

Supporters of Range will no doubt claim this is all irrelevant. The would say that new management is in place so focussing on the dire performance of the old guard matters little for the future direction of the company.

I disagree.

Had Mr Landau and the other directors stood down on February 3rd, then I would cede this point. But they didn’t and shareholders surely need to know how much Mr Landau earns from Range, to gauge how actively involved he might still be in their company.

Unfortunately, even knowing how much Mr Landau earns might not be as useful an indicator of his active involvement as hoped. Range has a history of being extremely generous to its non-executive directors. Non-execs Sir Sam Jonah (non-executive chairman) and Marcus Edwards-Jones both earned $102,087 during Range’s last full financial year. Sir Jonah’s remuneration went up by about 65%, compared to the year before, and Mr Edward-Jones’ increased by roughly 40%. Once again, this was against the backdrop of a 60% decline in Range’s share price.

To complicate matters slightly there are some further questions about director remuneration, which Range could do with answering next Wednesday. In the last annual report, note (i) in the remuneration report (on page 22) states that “as at 30 June 2013, there was $415,520 in accrued directors fees owing (pro-rata) that the Directors have agreed to have settled once proceeds from Texas sale or Trinidad financing facility have been received”.

The “Trinidad financing facility” appears to refer to the Reserve Based Lending that Range promised for a long time and which has failed to materialise. Like the Texas asset sale, both deals appear to be dead in the water. If this is the case is Range still liable for the $415,520?

Given that the old guard of directors failed to deliver both the Texas sale and the Trinidad Reserve Based Lending it would seem fair that Range does not have to pay these fees. After all, if the company is able to secure a new buyer of the Texan assets or a different type of funding facility for Trinidad, this surely will be thanks to the efforts of new Chief Executive Rory Russell?

Now there’s an interesting thought.