It's bumper bonus time for Lucent's top executives again, to the ire of the retirees

December 23, 2004

4 Min Read
Lucent's Fat Cats Get Fatter

Yes, it's time for our annual Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU) fat cat story (see It's Christmas Time at Lucent and Lucent Fat Cats Gorge in 2002), and the vendor's compensation committee hasn't let us down with this year's bonus awards, handing chairman and CEO Patricia Russo more than $13.6 million in cash and stock.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announcing Lucent's 2005 annual general meeting on February 16 in Wilmington, Delaware, "fiscal 2004 was a year of outstanding progress and strong accomplishments across a number of critical fundamentals."

Indeed, Lucent unveiled a profit for its full financial year (ending September 30 2004), its first in four years (see LU Finds New Revenue).

And it has been landing some impressive next-generation network deals, and looks well placed to further benefit from wireless operator consolidation (see Wireless Merger Favors Lucent, Nortel, Lucent Grabs Cingular Action, and Lucent Linked to More Cingular Booty).

Lucent's share price is healthier as a result. At a closing price of $3.78 yesterday (valuing the company at $16.7 billion), Lucent's share price is 32 percent higher than a year ago, when it stood at $2.88.

In the SEC filing, the compensation committee notes that it, and the company's board, "are proud of Lucent’s performance during 2004 and believe that the results achieved are due to the caliber and motivation of all employees and the focus provided by Lucent’s senior leaders."

All of which spells good news for Russo's bank balance. The table below shows her total compensation in 2004 came to more than $13.6 million. That includes a annual cash bonus of $2,950,000, about 2.5 times her base salary.

The size of Russo's annual bonus, states the compensation committee, is "in recognition of the company’s performance and her role in driving those outstanding results."

The table also shows that Russo isn't the only person pulling in multi-million dollar bonuses. CFO Frank D'Amelio ends 2004 more than $6 million to the good.

Table 1: Lucent FY 2004 Salaries, Bonuses & Options

Name

Position

Salary FY 04

Annual Bonus FY 04

Restricted Stock Award

Stock Options Granted

Patricia Russo

Chairman, CEO

$1.2 million

$2.95 million

$4.8 million

2.5 million, valued at $4.58 million

Frank D'Amelio

CFO

$662,500

$4.2 million

None

1 million, valued at $1.83 million

James Brewington

President, Developing Markets

$550,000

$3.06 million

None

650,000, valued at $1.19 million

Janet Davidson

President, Integrated Network Solutions (INS)

$550,000

$3.06 million

None

650,000, valued at $1.19 million

Bill O'Shea

President, Bell Labs

$700,000

$2.86 million

None

700,000, valued at $1.282 million

Source: Lucent SEC filing





The compensation committee is gushing in its praise of Russo. It says that under her leadership, "Lucent is positioned to be the industry’s thought leader in next-generation convergence, with the company growing or maintaining share during 2004 in a number of key product segments that should enable further growth and expansion at or above the overall market rate over the next few years."

It adds: "In addition, Lucent improved customer satisfaction results for the year, achieved increased employee engagement results in several key areas, and strengthened the leadership team through strategic hiring and various management development initiatives."

But there are concerns about whether Lucent can maintain its run of positive financial form, given the vendor's reliance on pension credits to bolster its bottom line (see Lucent Numbers Raise Pension Question).

Unsurprisingly, the company's pensioners aren't too happy about the size of the executive bonuses. A representative of the Lucent Retirees Organization told New Jersey newspaper The Star-Ledger that the vendor's senior executives are getting bonuses that "most retirees feel is beyond reason, based on what has happened to the retiree benefits."

The retirees have seen their health benefits cut in recent years as Lucent has looked at all ways it can cut its costs, and is seeking an investigation into the company's pension fund (see Lucent Cuts Retiree Healthcare, Lucent Retirees Get the Schacht, and Lucent Retirees Ask SEC for Help).

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading

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