Six senior executives of Thomson Reuters have been given share awards that could be worth $61m (£42m), after a year in which profits and revenues grew ahead of expectations but fears about the health of the financial and professional customers on which it depends also grew.
Tom Glocer, the former Reuters chief executive who became chief executive of the combined group following Thomson Corporation’s takeover last April, was granted restricted stock units valued at a potential $26.1m over five years. The awards are not subject to performance criteria.
Separate cash and stock bonuses, and $757,000 relocation expenses, mean Mr Glocer’s compensation jumped from £2.61m for his last year at Reuters to $8.91m for his first at the helm of the enlarged group.
A spokesman said the rise reflected larger responsibilities, performance achievements and currency swings. A similar one-time grant to Devin Wenig, chief executive of the markets division, was valued at $15.9m, on top of a $4.54m compensation package for the year.
Thomson Reuters said the awards for the two former Reuters executives, which exceeded those to former Thomson directors, were in part a reflection of the fact that they could not join Thomson’s defined pension plan for executives, which is now closed to new participants.
The details come amid heated argument about executive compensation, particularly in the Wall Street and City firms served by Thomson Reuters, and after contentious contract negotiations with some editorial staff.
But the company has little to fear from shareholder opposition to the rewards as it is 55 per cent controlled by the Woodbridge Company, which represents the Thomson family’s holding.
Geoff Beattie, president of Woodbridge, was also granted restricted stock units with a theoretical value of $3.57m. Niall FitzGerald, former Reuters chairman, received restricted stock valued at $707,000. The two deputy chairmen were architects of the Thomson Reuters deal.
The rewards followed a year in which the group hit the top end of its forecasts, with 8 per cent pro forma revenue growth and a 19 per cent increase in underlying operating profit.
Last month it accelerated estimates of integration savings from the merger, raised the dividend and predicted further organic growth in 2009.
Executive salaries will be frozen this year, after Mr Glocer’s basic salary slipped from the sterling equivalent of $1.67m to $1.55m.
A compensation committee report said it had aimed to increase the portion of his compensation tied to performance.
