Waterford compensates O'Reilly Jnr with €50,000

Tony O'Reilly Jnr received a payment of €50,000 as compensation for loss of office from luxury goods group Waterford Wedgwood, according to the company's annual report.

Mr O'Reilly resigned from Waterford Wedgwood in September 2005.

A consulting services contract with Kildare Consulting Limited, in which Mr O'Reilly has an interest, ended in February 2006 and resulted in total payments of €337,500. This brings the total payments made to Mr O'Reilly and Kildare Consulting to around €513,000.

Six directors of Waterford Wedgwood shared remuneration of €2.7 million in the year to the end of March 2006.

The company made a loss of €188.9 million during this period, a figure around 25 per cent greater than the €151.3 million loss recorded over the previous 12 months. At the pretax level, the loss was €189.4 million, down from a pretax loss of €244.8 million in the 12 months until the end of March 2005. During that period, nine directors shared remuneration of €10.2 million.

In the year to the end of March 2006, Waterford Wedgwood chief executive Peter Cameron received total pay of €429,000, including a salary of €411,000.

Former chief executive Redmond O'Donoghue, who stepped down in September 2005, received remuneration of €593,000, including payments of €342,000 into his pension.

John Foley, the chief executive of Waterford Crystal, received total remuneration of €695,000 over the year. This included pension payments of €342,000.

Waterford Crystal, which includes the manufacture and distribution of Waterford Crystal, Stuart Crystal and Cash's Mail Order products, recorded an operating loss of €18.1 million after exceptional items.

The Ceramics Group, which manufactures and distributes ceramic products by Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Rosenthal, lost €99.1 million after exceptional items, while W-C Designs & Spring Switzerland, which distributes a range of linen and cookware products, lost €1 million.

The chairman, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, said in his statement that the company "may not have the financial results I expect of our company, but it is clear that the ship has turned through the seas. I now believe that we are about to sail towards a much brighter future."

Sales were down 6.6 per cent at Waterford Crystal and down 5.8 per cent at W-C Designs and Spring Switzerland, but up 20.5 per cent at Ceramics Group, which reflected the purchase of Royal Doulton. The company's expenses during the year include redundancy and integration costs of €56.6 million, which are part of a €90 million restructuring programme at the group, which has seen it cut 1,800 jobs globally.