Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura & Co is seeking to cut executive pay by 32 percent as part of an overhaul aimed at restoring investor trust.
The Sao Paulo-based company’s board proposed setting the total remuneration of its senior managers at about 78 million reais ($15 million) for the 12 months starting in May, down from the 115 million reais initially proposed for the same period a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing Monday. The proposal will be voted in a general shareholder meeting April 26.
Shares of Natura were up 1 percent in Sao Paulo on Monday at 12:30 p.m. local time. They’re still down 77 percent since peaking in 2021, for a market value of around 19 billion reais.
The plan to reduce the compensation comes amid a corporate reorganization unveiled last year as Natura’s ambitions to expand globally faced a harsh reality check. The company brought on Fabio Barbosa as its chief executive officer at a time when it was grappling with sticky inflation and supply-chain disruptions. The challenges have taken a toll on profitability, with Natura posting a wider-than-expected net loss of 890 million reais for the fourth quarter.
The company is assessing options including selling part of or its full stake in its high-end brand Aesop, which lured suitors including L’Oreal SA and Permira, Bloomberg reported this month.
Natura is also proposing to shrink its board, with Barbosa and four other members resigning from their seats. Management recommended that equity-fund manager Dynamo Administracao de Recursos Ltda’s founding partner Bruno Rocha be elected to one of the vacant positions. Dynamo is Natura’s largest minority shareholder.
The company had drawn criticism for allowing the previous CEO, Roberto Marques to hold the chairman position, and the changes “are consistent with Natura’s goal of improving corporate governance,” Joao Pedro Soares, a Citigroup Inc. analyst, wrote in a note. He called the proposed cut in compensation “significant.”
By Vinícius Andrade
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