Wayne Boyd, the Chairman of Telecom, defended the steep hike in the salary of its Chief Executive, Paul Reynolds, and other top executives, in his address at the annual general meet of the company.

Boyd admitted that some shareholders may have different viewpoint over the remuneration being paid to Mr. Reynold, but he tried to justify to the shareholders that a world class management needs better remuneration and opportunities.

Boyd added, "Our strategy of total transformation of Telecom for the long term health of your company is essential, but as I said carries few guarantees of success. We have made an excellent start, in line with the five-year strategy, and delivered everything we said we would."

The firm, despite 43.9 per cent decline in its profit, paid more than $5 million, including full performance bonus, to its chief executive. In addition to it, top six executives were paid another $11 million, despite the tough financial conditions faced by the firm.

Shares of Telecom had bounced back by about 20% during the current financial year. However, still there are uncertainties over the execution of the company's five-year plan and the government's policies towards fiber proposal.