Glaxo doubles Witty’s bonus but insists China scandal has hit pay
UK-BASED pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline more than doubled its top executives’ bonuses last year, and said that remuneration would have been even higher if not for an ongoing bribery scandal in China.
In its annual report published yesterday, Glaxo said that the development of a healthy pipeline of new drugs was one reason behind a sharp rise in bonuses.
Chief executive Sir Andrew Witty saw his annual bonus rocket from £900,000 in 2012 to £1.875m last year, while chief financial officer Simon Dingemans was awarded £886,000, up from £343,000 in 2012.
Witty’s total remuneration, made up of basic pay, performance-based awards, and pension payments, came to £7.2m – up from 2012, when it was £4.39m.
The firm currently faces allegations in China surrounding bribes totalling over £300m. “The ongoing investigation by authorities in China was also considered by the [remuneration] committee. As a result, the bonuses awarded for 2013 were lower than they otherwise might have been,” the report said.