Whitehaven Coal is facing action after investors accused the mining giant of destroying shareholder value.
Bell Rock Capital Management is calling on shareholders to vote against bonuses for Whitehaven management and the adoption of the company's 2023 remuneration report.
Bell Rock representative Mike O'Mara said the measures would "introduce a misalignment between the interests of management and shareholders".
Under the current proposal, Whitehaven could destroy its share price, cancel or reduce dividends, and stop share buy-backs all while paying a healthy bonus to the company's management.
The report drops total shareholder return from the company's performance record despite its use by other energy giants like Santos, Woodside and BHP.
"Shareholder return should not be 100 per cent of management’s remuneration however neither should it be zero," Mr O'Mara said.
He also said executives had presided over a destruction of the share price in the past year, while paying CEO Paul Flynn three times more than his peers.
The London-based hedge fund led a push to stop Whitehaven from acquiring two major Queensland mines in August.
Bell Rock claimed Whitehaven Coal's management could receive significant financial benefit from the potential acquisition and no financial recourse if it destroyed shareholder value.
"Regrettably we are taking this action because the Whitehaven Coal board and management have made no attempt to address our concerns and their approach impacts all shareholders, not just us," Mr O'Mara said.
A letter will go out to shareholders on Thursday morning.
