We ran a story earlier this year on 12/13 APR, title, “Is Neil Ash Tom Brady?” which followed up on a report by NBC news regarding Mr. Ash’s ‘exorbitant’ compensation as compared to the average Acuity worker. The NBC report was misleading as it made the assumption that Mr. Ash’s compensation included compensation for goals that he had not yet met. Mr. Ashe did not receive $19.8M in 2020, he only received about $1.7M in 2020. Yes, he did receive options worth $18M, but those options are contingent upon meeting huge metrics, which he had not yet met.
If the trend continues, he is now about to meet those goals.
A year ago today, the Acuity Brands stock price closed at $102.59. Yesterday, it closed at $221.85. When I wrote the April article, the stock closed at $170.03. According to his contract, Mr. Ashe is only paid for his performance-based options when the stock reaches $225 per share—and it has to close above $225 per share for 10 consecutive days. Mr. Ashe receives a second performance-based payout if and when the stock reaches $275 per share—again the closing price must hold for 10 days.
- Signify closed yesterday at $43.49, compared to $34.52 a year ago. (26% gain)
- Legrand closed yesterday at $21.63 compared to $16.88 a year ago (28% gain)
The industry’s struggles with demand as well as supply chain issues does not seem to affect Acuity. In their 4Q21 earnings call Acuity reported an increase in sales of 11% and expanded gross profit and operating profit margins.