BUILDING: Despite a 15 per cent increase in profits and a 11 per cent increase in dividends at building materials group CRH, four executive directors suffered a virtual pay freeze last year.

Chief executive, Mr Liam O'Mahony's, remuneration package increased by just €5,000 to €1.216 million, while finance director Mr Harry Sheridan's package increased by just €2,000 to €658,000. Divisional director Mr Brian Griffin had a €3,000 increase to €644,000, while Mr Brian Hill's package increased by €9,000 to €578,000.

The main reason for the stagnation in remuneration was a substantially reduced incentive bonus for the four directors as basic salaries for all four increased by 11 per cent. Mr O'Mahony's basic salary last year was €840,000, Mr Sheridan's €450,000, while both Mr Griffin and Mr Hill had a basic salary of €430,000.

But while most of the directors received close to the maximum incentive bonus of 60 per cent of salary in 2000, last year none of the four received a bonus greater than 45 per cent of the basic salary.

CRH's incentive bonus comprises several separate components: individual performance - a maximum 10 per cent of salary; regional and/or group profitability (25 per cent); a further 25 per cent of salary is linked to earnings per share growth targets, return on net assets targets and total shareholder return relative to a peer group.

CRH chairman and former Bank of Ireland chief executive Mr Pat Molloy received a total of €250,000 - €38,000 in fees and €212,000 for acting as chairman and membership of board committees. CRH's former chief executive, Mr Don Godson - who sold €2 million worth of the group's shares this week - received €49,000.