AE Smith

Dec 1, 2022

Mr Tompkins was Downer’s general counsel from 2011 to 2017. He then ran the Spotless Group after Downer bought it in 2017 and was responsible for its integration, which included selling off hospitality contracts. He was also in charge of sorting out the company’s troubled Royal Adelaide Hospital contract. Downer chairman Mark Chellew, who has been overseeing the board for a year after replacing Michael Harding, did not give any hints at the company’s annual general meeting in November that a change of CEO was imminent. Advertisement But analysts said that change at the top was not a surprise given Mr Fenn’s long tenure, the recent change in chairman and Downer’s restructuring. Downer’s shares dropped almost 3 per cent to $5.03 per share on Thursday. Mr Tompkins will receive a fixed annual salary of $1.55 million as well as short and long term incentive packages. Downer’s remuneration report received a first strike at its annual general meeting in November after the company’s board used its discretion to award short-term bonuses. Mr Fenn earned $3.77 million in the 2022 financial year including a $650,000 cash bonus and a $629,792 deferred bonus, up from $3.31 million a year earlier. Separately, engineering contractor Clough’s financial report for the year ending in June has revealed it took a $375.3 million statutory net loss compared with a $20.8 million profit a year earlier after it wrote off a $347 million loan owed by its parent company Murray & Roberts, took an $18 million onerous contract provision and impaired goodwill. Advertisement The contractor had $101.3 million of cash at the end of the financial year (with about one-third held by joint ventures) but a net working capital deficit of $305 million. Clough’s auditors, PwC, said the Perth-based group’s ability to continue as a going concern depended on the completion of a sale to Italy’s Webuild. A proposed sale of Clough to Webuild , which was struck in early November, will put the Italians in charge of building the $6 billion hydropower project Snowy 2.0. Jenny Wiggins writes on business, specialising in infrastructure and transport. Connect with Jenny on Twitter . Email Jenny at jwiggins@afr.com Save