Varian Medical Systems CEO Timothy Guertin sees compensation drop 25 percent in 2009

Varian Medical CEO’s pay drops 25 percent in 2009

NEW YORK — Varian Medical Systems Inc. President and CEO Timothy E. Guertin saw his compensation in fiscal 2009 drop 25 percent to about $5.5 million, mainly because of lower performance-based payments and stock and option awards, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday.

The CEO received a salary of $864,238 in fiscal 2009, up 4.7 percent from the year before. But his performance-based awards fell 55 percent to $753,417, while other compensation fell 35.5 percent to $131,107. Other compensation includes company matches to a retirement plan and supplemental deferred compensation.

Meanwhile, stock and option awards fell 19.1 percent. They were valued at $3.8 million on the day they were granted.

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, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive’s compensation in the previous fiscal year.

Varian, based in Palo Alto, Calif., makes a range of cancer therapy systems and X-ray products. During the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Varian’s profit jumped 14 percent to $319 million on a 7 percent boost in revenue to $2.21 billion.

Despite the revenue and profit boost, the recession took its toll on the company as shares fell 26 percent to end the fiscal year at $42.13.