COVID-19 impact | L&T board members take up to 53% pay cut in FY20

Several members of Larsen and Toubro's (L&T) board took steep pay cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on businesses across sectors.

While group chairman AM Naik's remuneration for fiscal year 2019-20 was slashed by 24.19 percent, L&T chief executive officer and managing director SN Subrahmanyan took a pay cut of 43.91 percent. The company's chief financial officer R Shankar Raman also saw his salary cut by 47.33 percent in FY20.

The company said in its annual report that the reduction in managerial remuneration was mainly due to cost reduction measures voluntarily adopted by executive directors in light of the current pandemic scenario.

In his letter as part of the report, Naik said, "While we are hopeful that the 2nd half of FY 2020-21 will herald better economic and business activity in terms of tendering, good liquidity and revival of labour and supply chains, it would be premature to predict the Company’s business outcomes for FY 2020-21."

He said the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout make it difficult to forecast the future with any degree of certainty. The company sees prospects in areas such as government buildings, data centres, healthcare infrastructure, airports, metro railways and water projects. However, the timeline for when these projects will be able to take off is an uncertain one, Naik noted.

L&T's annual general meeting (AGM) will be held on August 13. At the AGM, a fundraising proposal for up to Rs 4,500 crore via a qualified institutional placement will also be discussed and put up for approval by the company.