Majority of compensation was in stock options that have little value currently
San Jose, CA (AP) — Shantanu Narayen, the chief executive of Acrobat software maker Adobe Systems Inc., was awarded compensation valued at $16.4 million in fiscal 2008, although the vast majority of that was in stock options that currently have little value.
About $14.2 million of the compensation was in stock options that have a strike price of $34.64 and vest through 2015, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of a proxy statement filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Adobe's shares closed Friday at $18.04, so it could be some time before they are worth cashing in. They could also expire worthless.
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SEC rules require Adobe and other public companies to provide an estimated value of the option on the date they were granted, knowing that executives have several years to decide when — or if — to exercise options.
Last year, the AP calculated Narayen's compensation at $5.3 million.
Narayen had a salary of $875,000 in fiscal 2008, up from $600,000 in fiscal 2007. He was appointed CEO in December 2007 after having served as chief operating officer since January 2005.
The executive's non-equity incentive plan compensation was $1.26 million, down from $1.32 million a year ago. Other compensation, in the form of 401(k) retirement plan matches, life insurance and personal travel, totaled $19,850, up from $8,990 a year ago.
For the full year, San Jose-based Adobe earned $871.8 million, or $1.59 per share, up 20 percent from $723.8 million a year earlier. Revenue for the fiscal year grew 13 percent to $3.58 billion, meeting the company's targets.
Shares in the company fell 50 percent over the year, from $42.73 on Dec. 31, 2007, to $21.29 ending Dec. 31, 2008.
The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, 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 SEC.