BskyB chief awarded huge share incentive

BSkyB chief Tony Ball has been awarded shares worth £3m, despite presiding over a £1.2bn annual loss and a fall in the group's stock price to its lowest level in more than three years.
Mr Ball, who received £8m from the company last year, has been awarded 558,220 shares, worth £3m at the current share price, under the satellite broadcaster's long-term incentive plan.
Finance director Martin Stewart has been awarded 279,110 shares, worth £1.5m.
The two men will be able to cash the shares in only if they hit aggressive performance targets over the next three years.
Up to 50% of the shares can be cashed from July 2004 and the balance from July 2005, provided that BSkyB has met the undisclosed targets.
Many analysts believe that BSkyB shares, which have fallen from 741p since the start of the year, are undervalued. Years of heavy investment and losses are expected to translate into the group's first profit in 2003 as the subscriber base reaches 6m.
Analysts say BSkyB needs to retain a management viewed as among the strongest in the media sector.
Results for the year ended June 30 2001, showing a £1.2bn pre-tax loss, were skewed by £1bn related to a failed investment in German pay-TV group Premiere, rising sports rights costs and set-top box giveaways.
If, in the next three years, BSkyB shares return to the 830p they traded at as recently as March, the value of Mr Ball's shares would be £4.6m and Mr Stewart's £2.3m.
At their peak, during the 'dotcom' boom, the shares topped £21.
(GB)