Perhaps worth digging in to understand what the causes of the 9% net profit increase is. If a decent part of the profit increase is attributable to factors out

Perhaps worth digging in to understand what the causes of the 9% net profit increase is. If a decent part of the profit increase is attributable to factors outside of company control that are unlikely to persist then maybe the business will snap back to old performance in 2021+ E.g. government handouts, locked-down customers on a one in 50 year buying spree buying $long-life product & reducing demand for that product in future years. I agree that share buybacks indicate company has a bit of spare cash, and that it could choose to distribute some of that cash to employees, perhaps as a one off bonus rather than ongoing liability of higher wages. How are the competitors faring? If competitors also have a freeze on salaries or wage cuts, maybe market rate for salaries has gone down even if your employer faring relatively well this last year.