Walgreen's CEO Gets Pay Boost On Bonus
DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The CEO of Walgreen Co. made nearly 30 percent more in fiscal 2010 because of a boost in his performance-related bonus as the nation's largest drugstore chain improved profits and revenue despite the down economy.
Gregory Wasson's total compensation was valued at $6.1 million in fiscal 2010, which ended in August. That was up from $4.7 million the year before.
The bulk of the increase came as his performance-related bonus was doubled to $1.7 million from $800,000.
His salary of $1.1 million was 17 percent higher than the prior year.
His 2010 compensation also included stock options and restricted stock valued at $3.2 million on the day they were granted, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission made Tuesday. In 2009, he received similar awards valued at $2.9 million.
Wasson, 52, received perks valued at $194,577 in the company's fiscal 2010. That's 36 percent higher than the value of perks he received from the previous year. His perks included $12,006 for life insurance, $12,865 for a profit sharing retirement plan and $89,000 for profit sharing restoration plan. He also received various dividends worth more than $50,000.
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, making the AP total different in most cases than the total reported by companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Wasson has been president and CEO of the Deerfield, Ill., company since February 2009. Before that, he was president and chief operating officer from 2007 to 2009 and has held various positions going back to 2001 with the company.
Walgreen, which is based in Deerfield, Ill., earned $2.09 billion, or $2.12 per share, in fiscal 2010, up from $2.01 billion or $2.02 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $67.42 billion from $63.34 billion, a jump of more than 6 percent. The company plans to boost sales of non-pharmacy items such as cosmetics, which can have fatter profit margins. The company is trying to improve revenue on the retail side of the business. The company is renovating stores and offering beer and wine at more than 4,200 locations.
Revenue at stores open at least a year fell 1.3 percent in October, more than analysts expected. The figure is important for retailers because it measures growth at existing businesses.
Walgreen opened 36 stores and closed two in October. At the end of the month is ran 8,092 drugstores nationwide. In April the company bought Duane Reade, the largest drugstore operator in New York City, for $623 million.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
