Ford CEO Alan Mulally (shown here) and Chairman Bill Ford collected nearly $100 million in stock bonuses.
Ford Motor Co. has awarded nearly $100 million in stock to its top two executives, CEO Alan Mulally and Chairman Bill Ford, as a reward for the company’s strong performance.
The maker turned in a $6.6 billion profit, last year, its best earnings report since 1999, and a significant turnaround for a company that lost $31.4 billion between 2005 and 2009. Ford was, however, the only Detroit maker to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two years ago.
The maker’s stock has risen roughly 14-fold since it hit bottom, in 2008, though Ford shares were priced at $14.50 at midday Tuesday, down from a 52-week peak of $18.97, reflecting concerns about the Libyan crisis and the automaker’s weaker-than-anticipated fourth quarter.
Mulally was awarded 3.8 million shares of stock, priced at $14.76 a share, for a total of $56 million. William Clay Ford Jr. was presented 2.87 million shares, worth $42.4 million.
The two executives had to cover taxes, however, the company withholding $23 million in stock for Mulally, and $17 million in Ford’s shares.
The two executives additionally received a combined 800,000 stock options that they could exercise between now and 2021. The price set for those options means they’d be “underwater,” or worth less than today’s actual stock price, but if Ford rebounds from the current downturn on Wall Street, the options could eventually be worth millions more.
Mulally’s payout reflects the fact that he has been given much of the credit for Ford’s ongoing recovery. The maker is projecting it will be solidly in the black in 2011 – indeed, it is expected to make accounting changes reflecting its turnaround that could add another $13 billion to its 2011 profits, TheDetroitBureau.com reported yesterday. (For more on that story, Click Here.)
The automaker’s strong performance has resulted in significant payouts to other senior executives, including Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth, who received $3.2 million in stock, General Counsel David Leitch, who received $2.9 million, and about a dozen others.