Executive Pay Edit #3

We are right in the middle of the main reporting period for directors’ remuneration and at present the team is busy populating our extensive database. As it stands, we have gathered information on over 300 companies, but our aim is to cover at least 700 companies from the FTSE 350, SmallCap, AIM and Fledgling Indices as well as some of the top Global companies from the FT 500 list.

Here’s a few snippets from the large batch of remuneration reports on our desks that caught our eye.

Shell’s remcom shows how CEO promotion had a distorting effect on pension single figure. DB figure is 10.7m euros despite no special treatment.

BAE Systems’ execs’ EPS targets down from 5%-11% to 3%-7% due to lower industry growth expectations due to changes in the defence market.

Reckitt Benckiser’s executive shareholding guidelines – CEO: 35 x salary & CFO: 18 x salary, top 40 directors own £135m in RB shares.

Imperial Tobacco’s ‘operating executive’, which excludes executive directors, earned £3.9m last year. Including execs & non-execs: £11 million.

British American Tobacco’s CEO-staff comparator group used for pay comparisons changed from 80 UK senior managers to 1,979 UK employees.

BAT highlights the problem of fluctuating exchange rates and how they de-linked long-term executive rewards from underlying strong performance.

Relx’s accounts illustrate accounting methods affect board remuneration disclosure, Dutch disclosure: CEO total = £6,808,000, UK = £16,176,000.