Pfizer CEO Ian Read.
by Gary Strauss, USA TODAY
Published: 03/15/2013 12:47pm
Pfizer CEO Ian Read's 2012 compensation rose slightly to $18 million in 2012, the pharmaceutical giant said Thursday.
That's up from about $17.8 million in 2011.
Read's 2012 pay package included $1.75 million in salary, $3.4 million in incentive pay, stock and stock options valued at $12.9 million and perks, including personal use of corporate aircraft, valued at nearly $175,000.
Read also gained about $5.6 million from vested shares and exercising previously issued stock options, according to Pfizer's annual proxy filing. Read gained just $1.5 million from options and vested shares in 2011.
Pfizer shares rose 14% last year, despite a 10% drop in revenue to $59 billion due to plunging sales of key drugs, including cholesterol treatment Lipitor, which lost patent rights in late 2011. Pfizer's board, however, cited Read's leadership and expertise for guiding the company forward.
Pfizer said Lipitor sales were down about $5 billion from 2011 and forecast 2013 overall revenue would drop to $56 billion to $58 billion. But with a cash stockpile of over $10.4 billion, up from 2011's $2.2 billion, Wall Street analysts have said the company could issue a special dividend to shareholders.
Read, 59, has been CEO since 2010. He joined the company as an auditor in 1978.
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