Paul Dacre’s pay and pension grossed more than £3m last year, DMGT annual report shows

Paul Dacre was paid £2.412m in the year to September 2014, according to the annual report of Daily Mail and General Trust.

And with his £673,000 pension, which he already collects, Dacre grossed £3.085m over the year.

His pay, which is up from £1.847m last year, includes a salary of £1.378m, a salary supplement of £1m and £34,000 of taxable supplements. His pension earnings are up from £652,000 last year.

The figures are correct as of 30 September 2014, and Dacre was given a 3 per cent salary pay rise of 1 October.

The earnings of Dacre, 66, were revealed in DMGT's annual report, which recorded a revenue of £1.864bn for the year. This was up from the year to September 2013, £1.802bn, but down on the figures for September 2012, £1.96bn.

The report said that the group’s statutory profit before tax was £267m, up from £179m and its adjusted profit before tax was £291m, up from £267m.

The DMG Media division of the company, which includes the Mail newspapers, Mail Online and the Metro as well as Wowcher, recorded a revenue of £796m, up year on year from £793m and an operating profit of £95m, up from £80m, according to the results.

The report said that advertising revenue declines from the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday were offset by gains online.

In total, advertising on Mail titles increased by 4 per cent over the year on an underlying basis to £252m, it said. Advertising on Mail Online and Metro.co.uk was up 46 per cent year on year to £62m, while print advertising was down 5 per cent to £190m.

Circulation revenues were down 4 per cent on an underlying basis to £326m.

The report said that Metro’s total revenues were £75m for the year, down 3 per cent.

DMG Media, which has 3,134 employees, down from 4,277 in 2013, had an operating profit of £95m, up from £80m, according to the results.

Lord Rothermere, chairman of DMGT, earned £2.4m during the year, up from £1.847m in 2013.

On editor-in-chief’s pay, the report said: “Paul Dacre’s remuneration for the past year was agreed in 2008 in recognition of the fact that Mr Dacre had agreed to work beyond DMGT’s retirement age at that time.

"In the ensuing five years, under his aegis as Editor-in-Chief, Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday significantly out-performed the market; MailOnline has become the world’s most visited English language newspaper website with a major presence in the US; and Metro is one of the world’s biggest free newspapers.

"However, Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday continue to face a challenging print newspaper market and this has required strategic focus on operational efficiencies and a more integrated approach across the business.

“In the light of this, Paul Dacre requested that his remuneration be more directly linked to the overall success of the business. To achieve this, he has waived his contractual right to a salary increase of the higher of RPI or 5% each year. He has also waived his annual salary supplement of £500,000."