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NEW YORK — The chief executive of MetLife Inc. saw his pay package rise by 39 percent last year, as the insurer recovered from steep investment losses and moved to significantly expand its presence overseas.
CEO Robert Henrikson received compensation of $13.9 million in 2010, up from $9.98 million in 2009, according to an Associate Press calculation based on a regulatory filing.
His base salary of $1 million was unchanged from the previous year. However, his performance-based pay rose to $4.5 million from $3.5 million. His stock and options rewards rose to $8 million, from $5.2 million the previous year.
Henrikson, 63 years old, also got $346,574 in personal perks and contributions to a savings and retirement program in 2010.
The Associated Press calculated Henrikson's pay based on filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The AP's formula includes salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards as of the day they were granted. The calculation excludes changes in the present value of pension benefits, making the AP total different in most cases than the total reported by companies to regulators.
The big raise for Henrikson in 2010 came as MetLife saw its investment losses ease dramatically. The company's stock ended the year up 26 percent at $44.44, according to FactSet. By comparison, the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 15.1 percent.
For the full year, MetLife reported earnings of $2.67 billion. That's compared with a loss of $2.37 billion in 2009. The year-earlier results reflect $2.91 billion in investment losses and $4.87 billion in derivative losses.
MetLife uses derivatives — contracts whose values depend on the financial performance of underlying assets — to hedge its exposure to risks, such as changes in interest rates and fluctuations in foreign currencies.
MetLife also completed its $16.2 billion purchase of American Life Insurance Co., or Alico, from insurance giant American International Group Inc. The purchase marked the largest acquisition in the company's history.
Alico, which operates in more than 50 countries, is expected to help MetLife expand in Japan, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. In the regulatory filing, MetLife noted that the deal "transformed MetLife into a global competitor." The company said it now expects to generate 30 percent of its premiums, fees, and other revenues and 40 percent of its operating earnings in 2011 from outside the United States.
MetLife will hold its annual shareholder meeting April 26 in New York.
