Wallace pay plummets to £955,000 at C&W

Graham Wallace, the chief executive of the telecoms group Cable & Wireless, saw his pay packet plummet last year, a period when the company issued two profit warnings amid missed key performance targets.

Robert Lerwill, C&W's finance director, was the only board member to receive a cash bonus under the company's short-term incentive plan.

The company's annual report and accounts, published yesterday, also revealed that two former C&W directors each earned more than their chief executive, after being compensated for loss of office.

Mr Wallace took home a total pay packet of £955,692 in the year to 31 March, including a £775,000 basic salary, down from the £1.67m he earned in the previous year.

"The short-term bonuses are based on the performance of the group and its business units. The group as a whole and Global didn't realise the target thresholds for the year and so bonuses were not awarded," a company spokesman said.

C&W, which issued warnings in September and February, cautioned last month that it expected tough market conditions to continue for another year.

While Mr Lerwill's total income for the year slipped from £984,339 to £702,464, he was awarded a £157,400 cash bonus reflecting the performance of C&W's Regional division.

But Mike McTighe, who left the company last summer and who was executive director of Global operations, earned £1.47m including a £1.24m payout to reflect compensation for loss of office and deferred bonus payments. Stephen Pettit, who also left last summer and who was executive director of corporate development, earned £1.1m including an £825,000 payout to cover compensation for loss of office.