Final Word from Thursday, January 12, 2006
The appointment of Radomír Lašák of ČEZ as president of ČSA is shining light again on the Kč 1bn in stock options for ČEZ's top people. Lašák alone will take home Kč 165m in options for 18 months of work, HN said. CEO Martin Roman of ČEZ went on the offensive, arguing that his team has created Kč 320bn in shareholder value. A logical question is, What share of this is actually due to ČEZ's management? One analyst told us 0%. Another said 20%. Another went as high as 60%, but only if the investment horizon is the long term. The analysts said that most of the recent share-price rise is due to other factors - mainly higher energy rates and low liquidity on the stock market. Most analysts agreed that ČEZ's managers have done a fine job of selling the company as a success story. At Kč 1bn in options, plus their high salaries, this makes them a very well-paid PR machine. [Czech Republic electricity public relations]