April 14, 2016

BP Shareholders Reject Oil Giant’s Pay Policy

Oil major signals it may have to reduce its dividend


LONDON—A majority of BP PLC’s shareholders voted against the company’s executive pay policy, a stinging—though nonbinding—rebuke to Chief Executive Bob Dudley and his board.

At the company’s annual meeting Thursday, the oil giant said preliminary results showed 59% of investors voting by proxy rejected the company’s executive compensation decisions for 2015. That included a controversial 20% increase in Mr. Dudley’s total pay for the year, at a time when the company lost $5.2 billion.
Earlier in the day, the company also signaled in its clearest terms yet that the oil giant may have to reduce its dividend, as low oil prices continue to threaten the once-sacrosanct investor payouts across the industry.
Both moves heap pressure on Mr. Dudley and his board, as they try to navigate low oil prices like the rest of the industry but also contend with increasing shareholder unease...