Wal-Mart CEO Pay Jumps by 33 Percent

Executives at the world’s largest company apparently had a good year in fiscal 2003, which ended on Jan. 31.

H. Lee Scott Jr., president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., saw his total compensation package jump by 33 percent to $28.96 million, according to a proxy statement filed April 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Thomas Coughlin, who heads the Wal-Mart Stores and Sam’s Club divisions, had a total compensation increase of 44.5 percent to $12.48 million.

During the same fiscal year, Wal-Mart’s sales increased by 12.3 percent to $244.5 billion, net income was up 20.5 percent to $8 billion and the stock price dropped by 20 percent to $47.80 per share from a high of $60 (although it’s back up to $55 per share now).

Scott’s official salary increased by only 1.7 percent to $1.14 million last year. But his bonus bloated by 77 percent, from $1.8 million to $3.16 million. And Scott received a 162 percent increase in the amount of restricted stock Wal-Mart awarded him — shares valued at $13.1 million from $5 million the previous year.

John Menzer, head of Wal-Mart’s international division; Thomas Schoewe, the company’s CFO and Michael Duke, executive vice president of administration also saw their compensation jump through bonuses and stock grants.