Astrazeneca was shaken by the revolt over Chef Pacasl Soriot’s £ 18 million deal

Astrazeneca is the youngest blue-chip giant to suffer an investor revolt against payment as “shareholder spring” rages across town.

At the pharmaceutical company’s annual general meeting, almost 40 percent of the votes were cast against an 18 million pound package handed over to chief Pascal Soriot. Despite the salary plans being passed, the results almost drove Astra to defeat.

Soriot, who received £ 15.4million last year, is one of the UK’s top paid executives but claims he is underpaid compared to the bosses of other major drug manufacturers.

The 61-year-old Frenchman has received praise for leading AstraZeneca through an impressive turnaround since it was acquired in 2012, introducing its Covid vaccine with no profit.

But the recent wage increase has divided investors. Some warn that this could damage the company’s image, others are reluctant to go along.

There was also a protest outside AstraZeneca’s headquarters in Cambridge, where the company was accused of putting profit before life.

The Anglo-Swedish company is currently producing the jab at cost, which means it won’t make any money from it during the pandemic. However, activists claim the company can make profits on the vaccine from July if it so wishes.

At Astrazeneca’s annual general meeting, almost 40 percent of the vote was against an 18 million pound package handed over to boss Pascal Soriot

The investor revolt marks the latest reprimand by a large company following similar revolts in Rio Tinto, Pearson, BAE Systems and Glencore, leading to the discussion that a shareholder spring replay of 2012 is underway.

Soriot is still hiding in Sydney

Pascal Soriot is expected to return to the UK next week after spending five months in Australia.

The Astrazeneca boss has been running the company from his Sydney home since December after traveling there for Christmas.

Bolt Hole: Astrazeneca boss Pascal Soriot has been running the company from his Sydney home since December after traveling there for Christmas

This means that the 61-year-old, who was born in France but is also an Australian citizen, moved there for the first time in 1990 since neither London nor the Cambridge headquarters of drug giant Vaccine started his business since it launched his business in January.

The company insists that he couldn’t return until next week due to travel restrictions and that Soriot’s ability to manage was not compromised by videoconferencing or phone communications.

However, some investors say he should have returned to Europe and defended the company more publicly as the handling of vaccine production has come under heavy fire from EU leaders.

Aviva Investors and Standard Life Aberdeen were among those who spoke out against Mr Soriot’s raise, while Jupiter Asset Management pledged its support.

All three shareholder advisory groups – ISS, Glass Lewis and Pirc – pushed against the proposals, and the Investment Association issued an “Amber Top Warning” indicating concern.

Under the agreed changes, the maximum bonus Soriot can receive has been increased by £ 2.3m to £ 11.9m on top of his £ 1.3m salary and benefits and pension contributions of £ 267,000 GBP.

His total package can also increase by an additional £ 4.3m if Astra’s shares rise 50 percent and its profit is up to £ 17.8m.

It is the second year in a row that his salary has been increased.

Astra said Soriot was worth the money, pointing to the “remarkable turnaround” since its acquisition. Followers agreed to the changes to prevent him from being poached.

Soriot had grumbled that he was “the worst-paid CEO in the entire industry” after heads of competing biotech companies such as Regeneron boss Len Schleifer, who bagged nearly £ 96 million last year, made more money.

Richard Buxton of Jupiter Asset Management said this is why his company backed Astra, saying, “If the board of directors thinks there is a real risk of losing Pascal … and they need to up the ante, then I am ready to trust the board of directors. ‘

Soriot’s pay has also been controversial in the past. Shareholders rebelled against his packages at the 2014, 2017 and 2018 general meetings.

Lee Wild, Head of Equity Strategy at Interactive Investor, said: ‘The numbers are undoubtedly eye candy, but Soriot and his team have achieved massive success around the world. It’s worth something.

And Soriot’s track record at Astra is enviable. ‘He pointed out that Astra became a £ 100 billion company last year – which overtook arch-rival Glaxosmithkline – and acquired rare disease specialist Alexion Pharmaceuticals for £ 28 billion.

Wild added, “Losing him could cost her well over a few million pounds a year.”

Astra shares fell 1.1 percent, or 86 pence, to 7,632 pence yesterday.

Mr Soriot is expected to return to the UK next week after spending five months in Australia, where he is has been running the company from his Sydney home since December after traveling there for Christmas.

Protesters calling for AstraZeneca to share its Covid-19 vaccine technology have argued with police outside the pharmaceutical giant’s headquarters in Cambridge