I don't know if this cames as a surprice or was expected all the time.
Stuff like this needs to be booked year by year, if not, any CEO can claim to have right to print shares to compensate for previous years.
It certainly came as a surprise to most of us. But then most shareholders are not aware of the details of the compensation plan etc. anyway. So you would have to dig a little deeper to find out if it's justified.
Solomon does work his ass off, like 16 hours per day on average. And no doubt he expects similar things from the people he works with. So he is entitled to some form of compensation.
Look, he can give himself a bonus every year if he wants to. It's in the contract. What's Nisse going to do? Tell him he won't get it? He is better off kissing his ass and make sure the rest of the Board gets compensated as well. It's a pay-off, basically. Welcome to reality.
But like I said, they do work hard. It's the efficiency that is lacking. In the field of shareholder value. And some strategic decisions the past few years that are questionable at best.
It comes down to Solomon wanting to maintain a 10% interest in the company, IMO. Which I can understand. From that perspective, it's not an issue at all. But they better haul ass when it comes to creating shareholder value. And by that I mean, pay quarterly cash dividends. Start immediately. And listen to your shareholders for once.
Right now we are trading at 5.7% of book value. Ever since CREG rallied from $1 to $8 and now at $4, I'm not aware of another company trading at such depressed levels.