What is the salary of Renaud Hinse, the CEO of Abcourt Mines Ltd.?
We don’t know exactly because it gets tucked into a category called “Related Party Transactions”.
Related Party Transactions Just who are these Related Parties?
“Key management personnel of the Company are members of the Board, as well as the President and the Chief Financial Officer.”
CheckCode.do (sedar.com) Note 17, p.31.
So, Abcourt Mines Ltd. does not tell us what the breakdown is for “Related Party Transactions”, and therefore we cannot know what the company President/CEO’s salary is. It can’t be found under a search of “Statement of Executive Compensation” in Sedar because no such documents come up. The Management Discussion and Analysis does not provide any specific information as to Renaud Hinse’s salary either. We are left to guess how “Salaries and Payroll Charges” are divided up among the President/CEO, CFO, Board Members, and “key management”. You see, the problem is that we should know what the CEO's salary actually is. That way we can determine whether or not he is earning his pay.
Here are the figures for “Key Management Remuneration”:
| For the year ended June 30th |
| 2013 | $ 36,040 |
| 2014 | 53,888 |
| 2015 | 99,441 |
| 2016 | 64,932 |
| 2017 | 604,454 |
| 2018 | 43,116 |
| 2019 | 133,596 |
| 2020 | 135,562 |
| Total | $1,171,029 |
That 2017 figure of $604,454 includes $582,000 in “share-based compensation”. No additional information is given.
Boards typically have a “Compensation Committee”. Why are the shareholders not being told what Renaud Hinse’s salary is and what it will be next year? Is this even being controlled or does he just inform them what he wants his salary to be from year to year? Anyhow, Renaud Hinse’s salary is included in “Key Management Remuneration”.
Now let’s look at a separate category called “Other Related Party Transactions” that is in addition to Renaud Hinse’s salary that is buried in the figures above.
CheckCode.do (sedar.com) Note 17, p.32. says:
“In addition to the amounts listed above in the remuneration to key management, following are the related party transactions for the period ended June 30, 2020 and 2019: Transactions with a company controlled by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company”.
Yes, that company would most likely be Decochib Inc. (the Hinse family privately-owned entity).
“Total Consulting Fees” paid to Renaud Hinse (Decochib) is:
| For the year ended June 30th |
| 2013 | 327,358 |
| 2014 | 337,467 |
| 2015 | 354,819 |
| 2016 | 341,384 |
| 2017 | 354,883 |
| 2018 | 374,534 |
| 2019 | 379,256 |
| 2020 | 386,198 |
| Total | $2,855,899 |
Now what exactly is “Consulting Fees”? Don’t we get a CEO for the salary that we are already paying him?
There is even a breakdown of these consulting fees: with such items as “Cost of Sales” and “Administrative Charges”. Huh? Why is the CEO running a company (his own private one) within another company (a public one), and all we get are broad descriptions of “Consulting Fees”? Just what kind of “sales” is Renaud Hinse involved in with his duties to Abcourt Mines so that he has a “Cost of Sales” category for his own private entity?
Does this seem like transparent behaviour on the part of the CEO, or like charges getting tucked away here and there, leading to yet more shareholder confusion?
When Abcourt Mines hires Renaud Hinse for these additional “Consulting Fees” do they compare the cost of specific services (in addition to the CEO’s duties) that are being paid to Renaud Hinse with other possible providers of “Consulting Fees”? How does Abcourt know that they are getting a good deal for these “Consulting Fees”? It is vital that Abcourt can exercise due diligence and know that they are not overpaying for these “Consulting Fees”. Just whose job is it to ensure that shareholders are being well served and that these costs are justified? Perhaps we should start with an explanation (without gas lighting please) of what “Consulting Fees” even are.
An honest company lets everyone know exactly what the CEO is being paid. To the dollar. There is no lumping of salaries together and no hazy category of “Consulting Fees” with ambiguous sub-categories. It is also completely unacceptable that the CEO is running his own private company within a public company.
Who is going to hold all of this to account and exercise oversight on behalf the shareholders? The CFO (Renaud Hinse’s son)? The assistant Corporate Secretary (Renaud Hinse’s daughter)? The Board Member Jean-Guy Courtois (Renaud Hinse’s Brother-in-law)? Francois Mestrallet (a Hinse family friend)? Or maybe the Corporate Secretary, Julie Godard, will ensure that there is proper governance?
By the way, Julie Godard, the Corporate Secretary, has been paid the following over the past five years in “Professional Fees”. (They were possibly paid to her prior to that but were perhaps buried in that category called “Related Party Transactions” that has no breakdown in regards to who is paid what.)
| For the year ended June 30th |
| 2016 | 34 294 |
| 2017 | 28,917 |
| 2018 | 36,784 |
| 2019 | 34,374 |
| 2020 | 21,831 |
| Total | $ 156,200 |
Does the lack of details regarding Renaud Hinse's renumeration concern you as a shareholder? Just how do you feel about the ambiguous category of “Consulting Fees” that is paid above a person’s salary? What do you think of Renaud Hinse running his private company Decochib within Abcourt Mines, a public company? When does he take his CEO hat off and put his Consultant hat on, so he can charge hundereds of thousands of dollars for "Consulting Fees"? Do you know of any other CEO of a publicly-held company among gold mining producers engaging in such a practice? Does this look like other Abcourt officers and hired professionals are providing good governance, like they should be, over Renaud Hinse's compensation?
Here are the totals of all three categories so you can get a better idea of Renaud Hinse’s compensation and the payments to his family-owned entity Decochib. (Since there is no breakdown of “Key Management Remuneration” all we can do is know that Renaud Hinse is making up to that stated amount of money.)
| Renaud Hinse / Decochib Compensation / Payments for the years 2013 to 2020 | |
| Royalties | $2,818,019 |
| Salary (up to) | 1,171,029 |
| Consulting Fees | $2,855,899 |
| Total (up to) | $6,844,947 |
That’s the vast majority of the profits that Abcourt Mines Ltd. has had over the past eight years. It comes to about $1 Million per year.
Did you know that Renaud Hinse’s “Consulting Fees” (which are above and beyond his salary) come to more than the NSR Royalties that are allegedly payable to Decochib?
But hey, there's hope...the CFO, Normand Hinse, he’s the guy to “get the job done right”! I’ve heard somewhere – oh yes, on this discussion board – that he has done such amazing things. In fact, he’s “a main director driving the financial success of Abcourt”. Such accomplishments! And all without any educational degrees or experience to speak of in either finance or mining. Wow, he’s quite the whiz! And kudos to him for buying more shares as an inside purchaser! He deserves special thanks for that. Perhaps when the old man is gone, Normand Hinse will be the one to charge us hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in “Consulting Fees” above his own salary. You know, because of his wonderful “business acumen” and purported “financial contacts”. It also helps when nearly half the Board of Directors are family members.
If you have any further information regarding details concerning the compensation paid to Renaud Hinse or his family members either directly or through their private company Decochib by Abcourt Mines Ltd., feel free to send me a private message or to contact me directly.
John Krneta
Vancouver, BC
jkrneta@hotmail.com
604-961-7008