Shareholders of Nine Entertainment delivered a strike against the company’s remuneration report after 34.4% of votes opposed the document at the annual general meeting.
The vote comes after Nine’s share price has fallen about 30 per cent over the past year and amid campaigns by proxy advisers CGI Glass Lewis and ISS urging investors to oppose the company’s executive pay arrangements.
Chair Peter Tonagh defended chief executive Matt Stanton’s record at the meeting and rejected calls to cut his pay in response to the share price decline.
"Our perspective as a board is the argument that we should reduce Matt’s salary because he did a good job of selling a business and returning value to shareholders, and buying another one, which requires more work from him, is an argument that is not persuasive to us," Tonagh said.
Tonagh, fronting his first AGM as chair, said the board would take the strike seriously but argued Stanton should not be penalised for selling Nine’s stake in Domain and buying outdoor advertising company QMS.
Investors also registered more than a quarter of votes against Stanton’s performance rights for 2025 and 2026, and the company reported his base salary was $1.6 million last financial year with total remuneration, including bonuses, of $3 million.
A strike is registered when more than 25% of votes oppose a remuneration report; this is Nine’s second strike in three years after a 2024 vote that targeted then-acting chief executive Stanton and former chair Catherine West amid concerns over share performance and aspects of the company’s television operations.
The AGM was interrupted repeatedly by retail shareholders raising unconventional complaints, from why Nine does not use AI to audit its finances to dissatisfaction with the food on offer. One attendee complained the foyer offered "a tray of biscuits bought from local Metro and nothing more," and another described the hospitality as having a "lousy reputation."
Since the prior strike, Nine sold its 60% stake in Domain and spent $850 million acquiring QMS, a deal that has drawn investor scrutiny over price and strategy. The group’s ownership profile also changed after Bruce Gordon’s Birketu increased its holding to 31.2%, a move some say affects potential corporate options for the company.
After the AGM and a trading update, Nine’s shares jumped 8% to $0.80 on Friday, following guidance that the company was on track to exceed its cost savings target by $20 million to reach $180 million and that it expected revenue and earnings growth in the current financial year.
