BAE share price in focus as CEO pockets £1m pay increase

Shares in BAE Systems Plc (LON:BA) saw a temporary drop this morning following the release of the company’s annual report yesterday. A spokesman for the defence company denied that it had “dripped out” its announcement during George Osborne’s Budget speech, insisting instead that the annual report was always released at the same time every year.

At 09:00 GMT, BAE’s share price had reached a high of 547.25p before falling to 542.75p by 10:30 GMT. The correction then reversed and the share price returned to an upward trend.
According to the company report, BAE Systems chief executive Ian King received a £1 million pay rise last year. This boosted his salary by almost 41 percent to £3.519 million compared to his pay deal from the previous year of £2.499 million. While his base package remained at £963,000, King’s bonus increased by £450,000, based on company performance.
The defence manufacturer’s finance director, Peter Lynas also received an increased pay package. He enjoyed a rise of 12 percent, once more due to a higher bonus. This saw his salary round out at £2.003 million for 2014. Both Lynas and King saw extra money added to their salary thanks to the value of a share-based long term investment plan (LTIP).
Speaking of the company’s 2014 performance, King commented: “In this challenging but stabilising environment, BAE Systems has delivered a solid overall performance in 2014, building on the good programme execution of recent years.”
Last month saw the company announce a drop in sales of £1.5 billion, but King said that the company had benefitted from long-term contracts in the UK air and naval domain. Further to this, the company’s annual report saw the chief executive acknowledge the unstable UK economic environment, citing that it placed pressure on many areas of public spending, including the defence budget.
As of 14:34 GMT, Thursday, 19 March, BAE Systems plc share price is 547.25p.