Fortum board curbs executive pay after Finnish government opposition

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish utility Fortum said on Tuesday it's board had frozen the pay of senior management and cut stock options following opposition to the remuneration by Finland's government, the group's majority owner.

The decision follows last year's collapse of Fortum's former Germany subsidiary Uniper and the establishment by the Finnish government of a bridge loan agreement to cover collateral needs in the Nordic power derivatives market.

The Finnish government, which owns 51% of Fortum, on April 13 voted against the company's remuneration plan, and the board later said it would reassess the situation.

Fortum's senior executives will not receive pay rises for 2022 or 2023, and nor will they receive performance bonuses for those years, the company said on Tuesday.

The leadership team has also voluntarily agree to waive stock awards that were scheduled for delivery in the spring of 2024, it added.

(Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik)