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WASHINGTON — The chairman and CEO at Abbott Laboratories received a 13 percent drop in total compensation last year, mainly as a result of reduced stock options.
The North Chicago-based company disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that Miles White's total compensation as $21.9 million, down from $25.3 million in 2008.
White's 2009 salary rose about 3 percent at $1.9 million, while his performance bonus fell 7 percent to $3.9 million.
White received over $709,000 in perks, including jet travel and personal security. Above-market earnings on deferred compensation fell to $70,528 from $230,526 in 2008.
The bulk of White's compensation came in the form of stock options. On the day they were granted they were valued at $15.5 million, down 15 percent from the $18.3 million in stock options he received in 2008.
The 2009 stock options were granted in February of that year, when the stock was worth $54.03. Abbott closed in trading Monday at $54.80.
Abbott disclosed White's compensation in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
White, 55, joined Abbott in 1984 and has been CEO and chairman since 1999.
Abbott shares finished 2009 roughly where they began, trading around $53.
The company's profit rose to $5.75 billion, or $3.69 per share, in 2009, up from $4.88 billion, or $3.03 per share, in 2008. However, operating costs also jumped more than 11 percent as the company undertook an aggressive acquisition campaign.
Abbott has grown into a pharmaceutical powerhouse in the last decade, primarily due to sales of its anti-inflammatory drug Humira, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. The drug posted 2009 sales of $5.5 billion.
Some analysts have begun voicing concern that the company is too reliant on Humira, which has historically accounted for nearly 35 percent of company sales.
Partly in response to such concerns, Abbott has snatched up a slew of smaller companies in the last two years, including eye-care maker Advanced Medical Optics and Belgian Solvay Pharmaceuticals.
The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, 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 SEC.
(This version CORRECTS annual sales figure of Humira to $5.5 billion)
