Time Warner Cable CEO gets $15.8 million compensation in 2009, up more than 9 percent

Time Warner Cable CEO gets $15.8M compensation

The chief executive of Time Warner Cable Inc. received total compensation of $15.8 million last year, up more than 9 percent from 2008 mainly because of a bonus for renewing his employment contract, according to a calculation by The Associated Press.

CEO Glenn Britt’s compensation includes a performance-based cash bonus of $6.25 million in part for his handling of the cable TV company’s separation from Time Warner Inc. He received a base salary of $1 million in 2009, the same as in 2008.

The increase in his total compensation was largely driven by a special $2 million stock option award granted to Britt to renew his employment contract through 2012.

The new employment agreement also removes a $6.25 million cap for his bonus, but he still faces restrictions under the company’s annual bonus plan.

Overall, Britt received option awards worth $5.9 million and stock grants valued at $2.3 million on the date they were granted.

The current value of options granted to Britt last year also now far exceeds the $5.9 million listed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday. These values were calculated on the dates the options were granted, which was before the stock had a big increase.

The options awarded last year have exercise prices of $23.48 to $34.24, well below Tuesday’s closing price of $52.88, which is near the stock’s 52-week high. That means he stands to make the difference if the stock prices remain high when he exercises the options and sells the shares.

Britt also received other compensation worth more than $260,000. That includes about $128,000 for personal use of the company aircraft, more than $25,000 in insurance benefits and about $71,300 for financial services.

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 SEC.