The highest earner at Blu Label Unlimited Group was paid R36.5-million in the year to May. That is about 470 times the R77 400 earned by its lowest-paid permanent worker, TechCentral reported.
The figures come from pay-gap disclosures that companies must now make under the amended Companies Act. Blu Label shared them in its integrated annual report, published on Wednesday.
The median employee at the group earned R495 000. This means the top earner was paid about 74 times as much as the middle worker. The report does not name the highest earner.
The group said the top 5% of earners received 75.3 times as much as the bottom 5%. The numbers cover permanent staff who worked the full year. They include salaries, benefits and bonuses paid through payroll.
Joint CEOs Brett and Mark Levy each earned R33-million in the 2026 financial year. This was 12% lower than the R37.4-million each received the year before.
Financial director Dean Suntup saw his pay rise by 9% to R18.7-million. This included a once-off bonus of R2.5-million for his work on the restructuring and listing of Cell C.
Each Levy brother received R12.9-million in fixed pay and a short-term bonus of R7.7-million. Each also got R11.7-million in shares from a 2023 incentive plan, plus R681 000 in dividends on those shares.
Their short-term bonuses were well below target. They paid out at 60% of fixed pay, against a target of 100%. Suntup’s bonus, without the once-off payment, came to 42% of fixed pay against a 70% target.
One bonus measure paid nothing at all. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at R620-million for bonus purposes. That was short of the R790-million level needed.
The pay committee left Cell C out of the bonus measures. It said the accounting effects of buying, restructuring and listing the mobile operator could not be planned for in the year’s budget.
The long-term share awards did much better. Under the 2023 plan, each Levy was given 1.82 million shares at R3.22 each. By 31 May the share price had risen to R9.19.
For this plan, the committee did count Blu Label’s share of Cell C’s earnings. That pushed results above the stretch target. The committee then used its own choice to cut the payout back to target level.
A second test, based on return on capital, failed. Average return on capital of 14.8% over three years fell short of the 15.35% cost of capital, so that part paid nothing.
The year saw Blu Label report a loss because of the accounting for Cell C’s separation and listing. Its normalised earnings held up, and it paid dividends for the first time in eight years.
Shareholder support for the group’s pay policy rose from 58% at the 2024 AGM to 80% at the 2025 AGM, the report said.
Lindsay Ralphs, who replaced Larry Nestadt as chairman in August, is set to earn a fee of R2-million in the 2027 financial year. This still needs shareholder approval.
Shareholders will vote on the pay policy and how it was applied at the AGM on 26 November.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TechCentral. Image: TechCentral. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.