The Coca-Cola Co said on Friday that its new chairman and chief executive will get US$1.5 million in salary a year and is eligible for roughly US$13.5 million more in other performance-based compensation.
The disclosure, contained in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, came two days after CEO Neville Isdell warned that the company's third-quarter per-share income will drop at least 24 percent from a year ago.
Coke spokesman Ben Deutsch defended Isdell's compensation package.
"His annual compensation is reflective of the board's confidence in his ability to lead the company. It is within the competitive range of CEOs at other high performing peer companies," Deutsch said.
He cited the US$1 million in salary and US$3.8 million bonus that rival PepsiCo Inc's chief executive, Steven Reinemund, received last year. He also noted that Isdell's predecessor at Coke, Doug Daft, received US$1.5 million in salary last year and a US$4 million bonus.
On Wednesday, Coke, citing poor weather in Europe and problems executing its business strategy in North America, said its reported net earnings for the July-September period will be in the range of US$0.35 to US$0.38.
In addition to his annual salary, Isdell also will be eligible for 200 percent of his base salary, or US$3 million, a year as part of the company's incentive program and US$10.5 million as part of the company's annual long-term equity plan, Friday's regulatory filing shows.
The actual amounts he receives will be based on his and the company's performance.
Other perks: Isdell is eligible to receive company-paid membership and reimbursement of dues and initiation fees associated with country clubs and social clubs he joins for business purposes, and he is eligible to receive reimbursement of US$10,000 in financial planning and counseling services in the first year of a related company program, the filing says.
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