Qantas share price edges lower amid Alan Joyce's $2.3 million FY22 pay packet

Is Alan Joyce's big pay packet putting investors off Qantas shares?

Sebastian Bowen

Author Bio Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record. Areas of Expertise Dividend investing ETFs Education Bachelor of Political, Economic, and Social Sciences (Government and International Relations), University of Sydney Social Media X/Twitter Favorite Investment Quote "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." – Benjamin Graham

Published September 9, 2022 5:10 pm AEST

The Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price had a fairly grounded session to end the trading week this Friday. Qantas shares ended up closing at $5.24 each, down 0.19% for the day.

That doesn't look great against the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which ended up recording a healthy gain of 0.66% to just under 6,900 points.

Perhaps investors didn't like what Qantas had to say in the annual report for FY22 that the ASX airline share released this morning.

There were many things of note contained in this annual report. But perhaps the most striking was the pay packet of Qantas' famous (or perhaps infamous) CEO, Alan Joyce.

The annual report revealed that Joyce received a total remuneration for FY22 of a cool $2.3 million in base salary and other benefits. This was a substantial 15% increase on the salary Joyce received over the FY21 financial year.

This might stick in the craw, to say the least, of some Qantas customers.

A man sitting in an aeroplane seat holds the top of his head as he looks at his airline ticket with an annoyed, angry expression on his face. — Image source: Getty Images

Qantas share price loses altitude

As we reported last month, Qantas is arguably struggling with its brand reputation at present. August saw Joyce facing calls to resign. This was parked by customer and employee frustration over delayed and cancelled flights, baggage handling and long airport queues.

In response, Joyce issued an apology last month:

Over the past few months, too many of you have had flights delayed, flights cancelled and bags misplaced… On behalf of the national carrier, I want to apologise and assure you that we're working hard to get back to our best.

The airline further sparked controversy by announcing a $400 million share buyback program during its earnings report on 25 August. As we discussed yesterday, some analysts are calling a buyback on this scale "reckless". Given Qantas' underlying loss of $1.9 billion for FY22 and all.

So, given all of these developments, this news regarding Joyce's salary today might well have gotten up investors' noses during this Friday's session. This could explain why the Qantas share price was such a lacklustre performer today.

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