Unlike Xero, Village Roadshow is no spring chicken.
Founded in 1954 by Roc Kirby, the entertainment company was one of the ASX’s top performers this year, rising 94.7% and greatly improving the fortunes of Kirby’s two sons, John and Robert, who today still own a majority of the listed company.
Older brother John is the company’s deputy chairman, while Robert is its executive chairman. Their wallets have benefited not just from the company’s rising share price, but equally from their tidy remuneration.
Robert Kirby was paid $2.4 million in 2013, just $3000 shy of the CEO’s salary, according to the company’s annual report. John Kirby was paid nearly $120,000 for his services as a non-executive director. In December, a company closely controlled by both Kirbys and Village’s managing director, Graham Burke, used what The Age dubbed a ‘legal loophole’ to prevent minority shareholders issuing a first-strike over the company’s remuneration report – generally speaking, executives and directors are prevented in voting their shares on their own pay at annual general meetings.
Village Roadshow today owns cinemas, theme parks (Wet’n’Wild, Sea World), and has a hand in making and distributing movies. And it was involved in some of last year’s highest grossing films, including The Great Gatsby, which it co-produced with Warner Bros, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which it distributed.
But the company’s biggest earner is its theme parks. In 2014, it plans to expand its footprint into China. Village Roadshow also has a hand in several high-profile releases such as Long Walk to Freedom, a Mandela biopic starring Idris Elba, and The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Kirby brothers are on a good thing. In 2012, they were worth $330 million. In 2013, BRW pegged them at $460m. Let’s watch how high they’ll go this year.
If you think the mining boom millions have come and gone, wait until Mark Creasy’s has his run.
In March 2013, Creasy made $93 million in two weeks when his then 20.3% stake in small-cap nickel miner Sirius Resources skyrocketed in value. He bought that stake for a hundredth of the price, and when the company’s tests at Nova and Bollinger tenements saw results consistent with higher quantities of nickel in the ground than was initially expected, Sirius’s stock went from $2.06 to $4.40.
At the time, plenty of investors were bullish on the company, with RBC Capital Markets analyst Geoff Breen telling The Australian Financial Review he didn’t think the share price was unsustainable.
Since then, the company’s share price has retreated to $2.12. But Creasy didn’t quit while he was ahead. In September, his investment company, Yandal Investments, bought another 600 million Sirius options, making it the owner of 75% of the total options on issue.
On largely the strength of his Sirius investments, The West Australian estimates Creasy is worth $539 million. BRW pegged his wealth at just $220 million in 2012 – with most of it coming from his previous prospecting and stakes in many Western Australian junior miners.
The British-born mining engineer initially made his fortune in gold prospecting when he pocketed $130 million from selling the Bronzewing and Jundee gold deposits in Western Australia in 1994. This deal earned him entry into Guinness World Records — it was the largest payout ever received by a prospector.
Today, his investment company is as asset-rich as it is cash-poor. Early this month, financials lodged with ASIC showed Yandal Investments reported a net profit of just $26 million with just $1.78 million cash on hand, despite assets worth many times that.
Creasy told The West Australianhe wasn’t worried: “As long as I am solvent and I have enough money to spend on exploration, I’m happy.”
Still, like all those who make money on mining, he’s taken large risks. If they pay off, we’d have ourselves one more mining billionaire to show for it.
Myriam Robin is a reporter for SmartCompany and its sister site LeadingCompany. She has degrees in economics, international studies and journalism. She likes writing about businesses taking risks and doing new things.
