Chandrasekaran’s FY24 pay rises 20% to Rs 135.3 cr on profit commission
N Chandrasekaran, executive chairman of Tata Sons Pvt
The remuneration of N Chandrasekaran, executive chairman of Tata Sons Pvt, the unlisted holding company of the Tata group, has gone up by 19.8 per cent to Rs 135.3 crore in the financial year ended March 2024—thanks to a rise in commission on profits of the holding company, as per the annual report of Tata Sons.
As per the report, Chandra, as he is popularly known, earned a commission on profit of Rs 121.5 crore, while the rest was his salary and perquisites. Overall, the remuneration of all Tata Sons directors rose by 16 per cent, with the company paying Rs 200 crore to its top directors compared to Rs 172.5 crore paid in the financial year ended March 2023. The salary and remuneration of Tata Sons employees were up 2.5 per cent to Rs 441 crore in the same period.
Interestingly, executive compensation in India’s top listed companies slowed down in FY24 after two years of strong growth. The combined remuneration of key managerial personnel or the top management of BSE 200 companies was up 3.9 per cent year-on-year in FY24 to Rs 8,304 crore from Rs 7,990 crore a year ago. This was the slowest growth in executive compensation in the last four years, as per data compiled by the Business Standard Research Bureau.
In FY 2023-24, Tata Sons reported a growth of 25 per cent in its total revenue to Rs 43,893 crore and reported a profit before exceptional items and taxes of Rs 41,116.51 crore. The company also reported exceptional items in the financial year 2023-24 of Rs 1,303.35 crore, mainly due to provisions made for gross liabilities of Tata Teleservices and its subsidiary, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), towards the Department of Telecommunications as AGR (adjusted gross revenues) dues. The holding firm reported a profit after tax of Rs 34,653.98 crore, a growth of 57 per cent over the previous year—thus giving a hefty salary hike to top leadership.
The capital structure of the company strengthened as its net worth increased by 38 per cent to Rs 1,24,878.55 crore, while net debt reduced to negative Rs 2,679.19 crore, as its cash balance was in excess of debt on March 31, 2024.
The company, which is registered as a core investment company (CIC) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has applied to the RBI for voluntary surrender of its registration as a CIC and to operate as an unregistered CIC. Last year, the RBI had classified Tata Sons as an NBFC-upper layer, thus making it mandatory for the firm to list its shares. With the company paying its debt of Rs 21,813 crore during the year, it sought an exemption from listing from the RBI.
The company paid a dividend of Rs 1,414 crore to its shareholders. Tata Trusts own a 66 per cent stake in the company, while the Mistry family owns an 18.4 per cent stake. The rest of the stake is owned by Tata group companies.
The company raised its brand fees from group companies in FY24 and earned brand and subscription income of Rs 1,830 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 1,007.96 crore earned in FY23.
First Published: Sep 06 2024 | 5:22 PM IST
