Construction giant CIMIC has delivered a strike against Macmahon Holding's executive pay after the mining services company halved its revenue forecasts.
CIMIC's "no" vote against the company's pay policy came as a surprise to Macmahon which has already reduced executive pay.
Macmahon chief executive Sy van Dyk said no discussions had been held about the remuneration report prior to the 37 per cent vote against it on Wednesday.
"We're surprised and disappointed that they have voted the way they voted," Mr van Dyk told reporters after the company's annual general meeting in Perth on Wednesday.
The company had reduced its chief executive pay by 40 per cent and trimmed staff salaries by 10 per cent after recording a strike against its pay report in 2013.
Still, he acknowledged Macmahon was at risk of recording a second strike and triggering a spill vote next year if it was unable to keep CIMIC, a 20 per cent shareholder, happy.
Australian companies are required to hold a spill vote if they record two strikes in a row.
A strike is recorded if 25 per cent or more of the votes are cast against the motion.
Macmahon expects revenue to fall to between $280 million and $350 million in 2015/16, from $660.2 million last financial year.
But Mr van Dyk, who earned $600,000 in 2015, said the company was in advanced discussions with potential new clients as it tendered for around $2 billion of work in Australia and overseas.
"The margins are not necessarily fat, they are tight, but they're still positive margins," Mr van Dyk said.
He is optimistic the company will soon have some good news on contracts but said market conditions were expected to remain tough, with mining companies winding back their investment plans amid ongoing commodity price volatility.
Macmahon has more than halved its workforce to around 1200 staff over the past 12 months.
It has suffered a huge slide in revenue in the past year as clients were hit by commodity price falls.
In June, Macmahon wrapped up the sale of its operations in Mongolia for $US65 million, well below the $100 million in forecast revenue from the project in 2015.
Macmahon has a positive cash balance of $55 million after recording a full year 2015 loss of $217.9 million.
Shares in the company were flat at 9.5 cents.
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