ConAgra CEO received $10.1 million pay package2009-08-13 16:30:00
The chief executive of ConAgra Foods Inc. received a nearly 27 percent boost in compensation in 2009 in a package worth $10.1 million, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures filed with regulators. Most of it came in stock options and restricted stock that haven't vested.
The increase for CEO Gary Rodkin came after he received a 41 percent pay cut in 2008. Revenue rose 5 percent this year as the company benefited from its focus on packaged food products and consumers eating more at home because of the recession.
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Rodkin received salary worth a little more than $1 million, on par with last year, and $1.1 million in incentive compensation, lower than the $1.8 million he received last year.
Rodkin's pay package included restricted stock and options in fiscal 2009 that were valued by the company at $7.8 million the day they were granted. The options, valued at $1.4 million, have an exercise price of $21.26 a share, while ConAgra's share price — along with the overall stock market — has fallen since the options were granted last summer. Shares rose 5 cents to close at $19.65 on Wednesday.
The restricted stock, valued at about $6.4 million, is a performance share grant for the fiscal 2009-2011 period that can't be paid until after fiscal 2011.
In fiscal 2008, stock and options grants were valued at $4.9 million.
Rodkin, 57, also received perks and extra benefits totaling $187,596, down from $297,526 last year. This year's figure includes nearly $49,000 for personal flights on company aircraft, and nearly $110,000 in contributions to his retirement plan, the filings said.
He received no bonus, just like last year.
Separately, Rodkin also realized $5.2 million on the vesting of stock awards from a fiscal 2007-2009 performance share program that ended May 31. This amount isn't included in the 2009 compensation package.
The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.
Rodkin has been president and CEO of Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra since 2005. He previously served as chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America from 2003 to 2005.
Over the past decade, the company has been transforming into a fully fledged packaged-food maker, known for brands like Banquet, Healthy Choice and Chef Boyardee, and away from dealing in volatile commodities, such as in a commodity trading unit.
For fiscal 2009, which ended in May, ConAgra's earnings climbed 5 percent to $978.4 million, or $2.15 per share, from $930.6 million, or $1.90 per share. Revenue rose 10 percent to $12.73 billion from $11.56 billion. The company, like other food makers, is benefiting as consumers spurn eating in restaurants and eat more at home.
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