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Johannesburg - South African CEOs of JSE-listed companies earned an average of R4.1m in 2014, according to a report released on Thursday.
According to PwC's Executive Directors - Practices and remuneration trends report, South Africa had 1 180 executives within JSE-listed companies in 2014, including CEOs, chief financial officers and executive directors.
"These are the guys that have been responsible for the management of the company. They also sit on the board," partner and tax director for PwC, Gerald Seegers, told journalists in Johannesburg.
The R4.1m average was what the CEOs were guaranteed to take home, excluding bonuses and shares. They averaged a 4.8% wage increase in 2014, having earned some R3.9m in guaranteed take-home pay in 2013.
Their CFO counterparts received on average R3.6m for 2014, an increase of 6.8% from 2013. Executive directors were paid on average R2.5m, receiving an average raise of 5.9% from the previous year.
In 2015, 107 executives were paid between R5m and R10m. Sixteen earned between R10m and R15m, 13 between R20m and R25m, and three were paid over R25m this year.
Last year, 112 executives earned between R5m and 10m, 18 between R10m and R15m, 18 between R20m and R25m, and six were paid over R25m last year.
Seegers said the majority of CEOs at resource companies were paid in foreign currency and among all the JSE-listed executives, 140 were paid in foreign currency.
"Often when you look at the increase, it's probably because the currency has devalued by 20%," he said.
South African executive pay stacked well against other African countries. If converted into US dollars, South African executives averaged $342 000 a year in guaranteed take-home pay.
In Botswana, the average was $198 000, Ghana $191 000, Kenya $185 000, Namibia $262 000, Nigeria $292 000 and Uganda $152 000. Tanzanian executives, however, bested their southerly neighbours, earning on average $350 000 a year.
Seegers said beyond Africa, South African executives were not overpaid compared to their international colleagues. He said executive pay should always be aligned within the spectrum of fair and critical pay.
"I think where we are seeing the focus shifting to is this side (worker pay). We've always said there should be a focus around the paying of a living wage."
The average minimum monthly wage in South Africa across all private-sector bargaining councils was R2 731.74, and R2 362.36 across all sectors.
