Macquarie chief executive Nicholas Moore took home more than $45,000 a day last year as the investment group posted its best profit result since the global financial crisis.
Mr Moore's pay packet swelled to $16.5 million for the 12 months to March 31 as he oversaw a 27 per cent jump in Macquarie's full year profit to $1.6 billion.
He is arguably Australia's highest paid chief executive, though Nine boss David Gyngell made $19.6 million last financial year thanks to one-off incentive payments linked to the media's group's initial public offering.
Mr Moore's pay is 217 times the average Australian wage of $76,000, meaning he took home more in two days than most people earned in a year.
But it's a long way from the $26.75 million he took home in 2008, which itself was a step down from the $33 million his predecessor Alan Moss made the year before.
His tenure at Macquarie hasn't always been so lucrative: he took home a considerably more modest $290,000 in 2009 after the global financial crisis hit.
And the hefty paypackets at Macquarie, which earned the moniker "the millionaire's factory" in the 1990s and 2000s, extend well beyond the chief executive.
Shemara Wikramanayake, the head of Macquarie Asset Management, made $16.2 million for the year, while the head of the bank's commodities and financial markets business, Andrew Downe, made $14.4 million.
Their take home pay easily trumps those of the chief executives of at the big four banks and mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
Macquarie's $1.6 billion full year profit is its best result since its record $1.8 billion profit in 2008.
It was also above the $1.5 billion analysts had expected and the 10 to 20 per cent profit growth Macquarie flagged in January.
Investors welcomed the result, pushing Macquarie shares up $3.75, or more than five per cent, to $80.44 as of 1420 AEST on Friday.
That share rally came despite Macquarie flagging only a slight improvement in profit during the 2016 financial year with an improved tax rate offsetting an expected flat performance across its divisions.
But optionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said the subdued guidance wasn't surprising given chief executive Nicholas Moore's history of under-promising and over-delivering.
"They are very very conservative historically on giving guidance for the year ahead and it looks like they've done it again today," he said.
"So some earnings upgrades going out into next year and beyond would be a shock because you can almost set your watch to earnings upgrades from Macquarie."
The result was mostly linked to Macquarie's international operations, which accounted for 70 per cent of its total income for the year.
"This reflects the growth of our international operations, particularly in the Americas which was the largest contributing region with 36 per cent of total income, as well as the favourable impact of foreign exchange movements," Mr Moore said.
Its annuity style business lifted its net profit contribution 33 per cent for the year, while the contribution from its capital markets-facing division was up 19 per cent.
Macquarie also lifted its final dividend 40 cents to $2 per share, which is 40 per cent franked.
MACQUARIE BEATS EXPECTATIONS
* Net profit of $1.604b, up 27pct from $1.265b in 2013/14
* Net operating income of $9.29b, up 14pct from $8.13b
* Final dividend of $2 per share, up fromm $1.60
AAP ews/gfr
*The reporter owns shares in the company.
Share
