Dheeraj Hinduja (in photo), chairman of Ashok Leyland, India’s second-largest truck manufacturer, got a taste of shareholder activism at the company AGM on July 16. During a three-hour meeting, shareholders expressed displeasure at everything including results performance, dividend payout last fiscal (60 paise per share versus Re 1 the previous year) and the fee to MS Dhoni, the brand ambassador.
They were also miffed at non-executive vice chairman R Seshasayee’s Rs 3-crore salary. They said he should take a cue from NR Narayana Murthy’s Re 1 salary. Hinduja later said, “This took more time than a Hindi or a Tamil film.”
In the April-June quarter, Leyland reported a loss of Rs 142 crore compared to a profit of Rs 67 crore in the same period last year.
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(This story appears in the 09 August, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Well said investors. These guys should get some heat on taking those huge salaries when company is making loss.
on Jul 26, 2013