FedEx CEO’s compensation falls 4 percent in its fiscal 2010 on lower salary and perks

FedEx CEO’s compensation slips 4 pct in 2010

NEW YORK — The top executive at FedEx Corp. saw his total compensation package drop by about 4 percent in the latest fiscal year, an Associated Press analysis shows.

President and CEO Fred Smith took home a salary of about $1.19 million for the fiscal year ending in May, according to a filing late Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s about 12 percent lower than his 2009 salary of nearly $1.36 million — the result of FedEx’s companywide pay cuts it made when the recession was at its worst point.

FedEx announced broad-based cost cuts about halfway through its 2009 fiscal year, which included a 20 percent pay cut for Smith, a 7.5 to 10 percent cut for other executives and a 5 percent cut for thousands of others. The pay cuts were permanent; other benefits including retirement plan contributions and bonuses have been reinstated.

Smith also received a performance-based cash bonus of $400,000 last year. Bonuses were frozen in fiscal 2009.

The value of his perks tumbled 48 percent to $684,643. The value of certain of Smith’s personal benefits, including use of corporate aircraft, fell 6 percent. The value of security services from FedEx employees for Smith was 25 percent lower in fiscal 2010.

The company stopped offering certain extras at the end of fiscal 2010, including tax reimbursement payments for tax return preparation and some other benefits related to financial planning and insurance. FedEx also nixed its corporate vehicle allowance for executives. Before May 1, Smith had personal use of an SUV through an arrangement with an unnamed vehicle manufacturer.

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.

For the full fiscal year that ended in May, FedEx, which is based in Memphis, Tenn., posted net income of $1.18 billion, or $3.76 per share, compared with $98 million, or 31 cents per share, in the previous fiscal year.

Revenue fell 2 percent to $34.73 billion.

The company’s shares, however, surged over the course of the year, rising 50 percent to finish May at $83.49.