An analysis of the use of share-based payments by the JSE Top 100 companies

Limited research has been conducted on companies’ use of share-based payments in a South African context. Where research has been performed, the focus has been predominantly on shared-based payments as part of executive remuneration packages. This paper extends this research by investigating all uses of share-based payments by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Top 100 companies. A content analysis was used to capture the details of each scheme disclosed by the JSE Top 100 companies. This included at whom the scheme was aimed, the purpose of the scheme, the settlement type, the vesting period and conditions, and whether there had been any modifications or cancellations. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Results reflected that 93 of the 100 companies investigated made use of share-based payments. Seventy-four per cent of all instruments were equity-settled. The few cash-settled schemes found were primarily used by the Basic Materials and Financials sectors. The average vesting period for all instruments was approximately 4 years, with Black Economic Empowerment-aimed schemes having the longest vesting period at 10 years. Non-market performance conditions were most prevalent at 87% while only 27% included market conditions. Overall, the findings are in line with Agency Theory and prior papers. In addition, this paper found a significant number of modifications and cancellations of instruments. This may be because of poor economic conditions, where reduced economic activity and lower share prices result in share-based payments becoming unfavourable to holders.