The boardroom paybill surged 48% at Melrose Resources last year, although the oil and gas firm slipped into the red last year following reverses off Bulgaria.

The annual report of Edinburgh-headquartered Melrose shows that directors shared emoluments totalling £1.7m in 2007, compared with £1.148m in the preceding year, with chairman Robert Adair being the biggest winner.

Adair, who spends 50% of his time on Melrose and the rest on other ventures including the Terrace Hill property business, earned £433,000, up from £288,000.

Munro Sutherland, finance director, enjoyed a 49% increase, from £286,000 to £420,000. Outgoing chief executive David Curry earned £288,000 before standing down on June 1, compared with £311,000 in 2006. David Thomas, who became chief executive on June 4, earned £186,000.

The report also shows that Curry received £584,613 when he left. This included £45,100 compensation for loss of office and a contribution to costs and an amount in respect of 98% of the value of vested share options. Curry also made £339,000 before tax on the exercise of share options during the year.

Adair, Sutherland and Thomas are in line for shares worth up to £340,425, £389,057 and £605,202 respectively under long-term incentive plan awards made in the year, based on yesterday's closing price for Melrose Resources shares of 361.5p.

In March, Melrose said it had made a pre-tax loss of $55m (£27.3m) in 2007 after making a profit of £5.5m in the previous year as it counted the costs of a high-risk drilling policy in Bulgaria.