Pay of Reckitt Benckiser chief executive doubles after share price rise pushes up value of stock options
The pay of consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser's chief executive has doubled in the past year to a whopping £23m, after the firm's share price boosted the value of his stock options.
The swelling pay packet makes CEO Rakesh Kapoor one of the best paid chief executives in the FTSE 100, though even his £23m haul pales in comparison to WPP's Martin Sorrel's pay for last year.
Reckitt, makers of an entirely random collection of products including French's Mustard, hair removal brand Veet, and cleaning spray Cillit Bang, has seen its stock soar by 70 per cent since 2012, and is up 10 per cent over the last 12 months.
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The rise has added £11.6m to Kapoor’s shares and options value.
Earlier this year Reckitt Benckiser reported better-than-expected full-year results with a five per cent increase in sales to £8.87bn over the year, thanks to a particularly strong performance in its consumer health division.
The total pay does however seem quite palatable considering Kapoor's predecessor Bart Becht pocketed a mind-boggling £92m for a year’s work in 2009, which still holds the record as the largest yearly payout to a FTSE 100 chief executive.
Campaigner against high executive salaries the High Pay Centre think tank has argued that current chief executive pay “remains extraordinarily high in comparison with historic levels”, and reckons FTSE 100 chief executives took home an average of £4.96m in 2014, compared with £4.92m in 2013.
The consumer goods producer is risking a shareholder revolt over the swelling levels of pay at its annual shareholder meeting.
Back in 2014 almost a third of Reckitt Benckiser’s shareholders rejected the consumer giant’s remuneration report at its annual general meeting, with a fifth voting against the pay policy.