Yigal Damri invests 10% of his annual salary in purchasing company shares
After his salary terms were updated, and the chairman of I.H. Damri will earn up to 8 million shekels per year, he continues to increase his stake in the company. What is the reason for this move and what is his percentage of holdings today?
The controlling shareholder and CEO of I.H. Damri continues to demonstrate confidence in the real estate giant under his control and is increasing his stake in the company. According to the company's report, as part of a single transaction, Damri purchased 2,235 shares at 361.62 shekels per share—about 808 thousand shekels—which is more than 10% of his annual salary. The price of a Damri share stood at 363.3 shekels this morning. Since the beginning of the year, it has fallen by 2.1%. The market value of Damri stands at about 8.37 billion shekels.
Following the current purchase, his balance of holdings rose to 12,187,042 shares, representing 52.90% of the share capital. The current step constitutes another layer in a chain of moves in which the controlling shareholder continues to increase his hold and express full confidence in the company's operations and its growth.
According to those close to Damri, he believes that the company's share price will rise and the real estate market will return to its track. This is happening against the backdrop of reports published by the company last week, according to which it is having difficulty selling apartments in Sde Dov, but is expected to raise the price per square meter in the rest of its projects in Tel Aviv. The price in Sde Dov, including VAT, is expected to stand at 73 thousand shekels per square meter.
Recall that in July, Damri carried out a purchase of shares in the amount of 620 thousand shekels. That purchase came just one day after his new compensation policy was approved and only two months after shareholders refused to approve the upgrade of his salary terms. The decision passed by a particularly narrow margin.
Damri had asked to upgrade his monthly management fees by 21%—from 271 thousand shekels to 330 thousand shekels—alongside a jump in the annual bonus ceiling from 2 million shekels to 3.1 million shekels in 2026 and to 4.5 million shekels in the years 2027–2028. Following the opposition of institutional investors, Damri retreated. The minimum annual profit threshold was lowered from 300 million shekels to 250 million shekels. Damri will earn, together with the maximum bonus, up to 7.2 million shekels in 2026, and about 7.9 million shekels in each of the years 2027 and 2028.
By the date of the report's publication this week, the company had sold 469 apartments, plus 30 purchase requests, in its projects across the country. These are positive figures, showing the exact opposite of what was expected after the first quarter; although a decrease in the average apartment price is felt, it is not a collapse, as many predicted.
