Several Western Australian-based company directors significantly increased their company share holdings in the lead-up to Christmas last year, highlighting the wealth generated by the current boom.
Several Western Australian-based company directors significantly increased their company share holdings in the lead-up to Christmas last year, highlighting the wealth generated by the current boom.
However not all of the increased shareholdings were as lucrative as they first appeared.
Aquila Resources executive chairman Tony Poli received more than 26.1 million bonus shares on December 15. He now holds almost 52.3 million shares valued at around $180 million.
The new shares were part of a bonus issue to all shareholders, which Aquila said was in recognition of the significant progress it has achieved on its various coal and iron ore projects and the support it had received from its shareholders.
The bonus issue was more akin to a share split designed to boost liquidity, since the number of shares on issue doubled and the share price effectively halved.
Mr Poli headed the WA Business News CEO salary review for 2006 with a total income of $6.6 million, consisting of a cash salary of $297,000 and share options worth $6.3 million.
Under the same issue, Aquila non-executive director Charles Bass received almost 13.4 million bonus shares, and now holds 26.7 million shares worth about $88 million, while non-executive director Derek Cowlan received 3.3 million bonus shares. Mr Cowlan also bought 125,000 shares for $400,000 on-market.
Aquila is currently trading at $3.20, after listing at 20 cents in June 2000, and has a market capitalisation of almost $277.6 million.
The signing last year of an exploration venture with Brazilian mining giant CVRD was a major milestone for Aquila.
Meanwhile, Kagara Zinc Ltd executive chairman Kim Robinson exercised options to buy one million shares at between $1.50 and $2 each. He now holds about 17.8 million shares valued at more than $123 million.
Executive technical director Joseph Treacy also exercised his options to buy 500,000 shares at $2 each, while selling 400,000 shares at $7.01 through on-market trade. He now holds approximately 3.5 million shares valued at more than $24 million.
During the past year, Kagara Zinc’s share price has risen 161 per cent and the company is currently capitalised at approximately $1.3 billion.
Last month, Kagara Zinc announced its Thalanga copper treatment facility near Charters Towers in north Queensland had commenced production.
The Thalanga plant, which is Kagara’s third production facility in north Queensland, sources ore from the Balcooma copper deposit and is expected to produce copper in concentrate at an annualised rate of more than 20,000 tonnes.
Directors also offloaded shares during the holiday season, with West Perth-based director of financial services company Centrepoint Alliance Ltd, Martin Kane, indirectly selling eight million ordinary shares for $9.6 million off-market. He now holds over 8.2 million shares valued at approximately $10.1 million.
Last year, Centrepoint signed a conditional contract with central Queensland’s Esdale Sinclair & Associates Pty Ltd to buy the finance brokerage business. Consideration for the acquisition was $3.06 million in cash.
Centrepoint’s share price, during the past year, has risen more than 55 per cent and is currently capitalised at $115 million-plus.
