According to the disclosure on pay disparity, which is now required under the amended Companies Act, the highest-paid employee at Blu Label Unlimited Group received R36.5 million for the year ending in May. This amount is approximately 470 times greater than the R77,400 earned by the lowest-paid permanent employee. The median employee income was R495,000, meaning the top manager earned about 74 times more.
In the integrated annual report published on Wednesday, the group reported that the top 5% of earners made 75.3 times more than the bottom 5%. These figures cover permanent employees who worked a full year and include salaries, benefits, as well as short-term and long-term incentives processed through the payroll. The report does not disclose the identity of the highest-paid employee.
Co-CEOs Brett and Mark Levy each received a total of R33 million in the 2026 financial year, which is 12% less than R37.4 million. CFO Dean Santup saw his compensation increase by 9%, reaching R18.7 million, including a one-time bonus of R2.5 million for work on the Cell C restructuring and listing.
The remuneration results relate to the year in which Blu Label recorded a loss, attributed to the accounting for the separation and listing of Cell C, although its normalized profit remained stable, and the company resumed dividend payments for the first time in eight years.
Each Levy package included R12.9 million in fixed pay, a short-term bonus of R7.7 million, R11.7 million in shares under the 2023 long-term incentive plan, valued at the share price on May 31, and R681,000 in dividends on those shares.
Bonuses were significantly below target. Levy's short-term incentives were paid at 60% of fixed pay, against a target of 100% and a maximum of 150%; Santup's bonus, excluding the one-time payment, was 42% of fixed pay against a target of 70%.