Boardroom pay drops as Johnston Press profits dip

Total boardroom pay at Johnston Press fell last year as the publisher of The Scotsman underwent a change of leadership.

Former chief executive John Fry, who stepped down in October, took home a basic salary of £438,000 for 2011. Including bonuses, his total package came to £833,000, down from £1.17 million a year earlier.

Ashley Highfield, who took over as chief executive on 1 November, was paid a total of £115,000 for the period to the end of 2011. He has also been granted just under 10.5 million shares in the group as part of its performance share plan.

Chief operating officer Danny Cammiade’s basic salary was unchanged at £324,000, but higher performance-related bonuses took his total pay for 2011 to £802,000, up from £660,000 a year earlier.

Chief financial officer Grant Murray, who joined in May 2011, received £304,000. His predecessor Stuart Paterson resigned in March and was paid a total of £110,000.

Chairman Ian Russell’s fees were unchanged at £130,000. In total, Johnston Press paid out £2.5m to its executive and non-executive directors, down from £2.8m in 2010.

The group, which also owns Scotland on Sunday, the Edinburgh Evening News and about 250 other titles, reported a 6.9 per cent fall in underlying pre-tax profits to £28.4m for 2011.