Three board members of ASX-listed tech investor Chapmans were together paid almost $1 million in 2017, according to the company’s annual report.
The total cash salary and fees for Peter Dykes, Anthony Dunlop and Chris Newport came to $983,200.
Mr Dunlop and Mr Dykes, who both work on the business, each take a base salary of $480,000.
Chapmans (ASX:CHP) made a full-year loss of $9.7 million in the last financial year — compared to a $100,000 loss in 2016.
The loss doesn’t include a $300,000 investment in human resources software-as-a-service business Rison, a $US4 million investment in US-based Securrency or a $500,000 exit from Fantasy Sports Global.
Impaired
The higher loss included almost $7 million in financial and goodwill impairment charges.
Mr Dunlop says this was due to changes in the way investment companies are required to value their shareholdings that came into effect this year.
The $1.5 million impairing goodwill was due to Chapman’s new 80 per cent interest in cleantech business Syn Dynamics Australia, a company that is developing CSIRO-based plasma gasification research.
“As Syn Dynamics Pty Ltd is not expected to generate any positive EBITDA for at least the next two years, the directors have decided to fully impair the goodwill balance,” Chapmans said.
The remainder of the impairment charge was over financial assets.
In the last year Chapmans also began the process of listing 20FOUR Media Holdings, a sport-focused digital media business, in which it owns a 39.55 per cent stake.
Chapmans took a step into the world of blockchain when it bought 9.33 per cent of Reffind (ASX:RFN) for $1 million. Reffind has a strategic investment in US blockchain loyalty business Loyyal.
And Chapmans has a 50 per cent stake in cannabis investor MJ Life Sciences.
Chapmans shares are currently suspended from trading as the ASX looks into an announcement last week.
The company had said it had raised $7.34 million for investments including into a Canadian data processing centre and a cryptocurrency mining company called GPU.One.
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