AGCO Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Martin Richenhagen's compensation fell 58% in 2009 on reduced stock awards and the elimination of cash incentive pay, according to a regulatory filing Monday.
Richenhagen's salary, executive perquisites and stock awards totaled $2.02 million last year, compared with $4.84 million in 2008. He received $1.12 million in nonequity incentive pay in 2008 that was based on achieving certain performance standards set by the company's board.
Last year, Richenhagen received no incentive-based cash compensation because AGCO didn't reach the earnings-per-share threshold needed to trigger the payouts, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Richenhagen, 57, hasn't received a bonus in recent years. He has been chief executive of the Duluth, Ga., company since 2004.
AGCO is the world's third-largest manufacturer of farm equipment by sales, behind Deere & Co. (DE) and CNH Global NV (CNH). AGCO's profit last year plunged 65% from 2008 to $135.7 million, on a 21.2% drop in sales to $6.63 billion. The global economic recession and a pullback in spending on capital equipment, like tractors and combines, have hindered Agco's performance in recent quarters.
Richenhagen's base salary in 2009 rose nearly 3% to $1.05 million. His awards of stock and options were significantly lower last year, largely because he received a special retention-based stock award in 2008 worth $2 million. That award was on top of the $563,535 in options and stock awarded for his performance in 2008.
In 2009, Richenhagen received stock and options worth $863,940 on the day they were granted. He also received $102,386 for club memberships, life-insurance costs, car leases and other perks, 23.6% less than in 2008.
The value of his pension and other types of deferred compensation, which wasn't included in his total compensation calculation, rose by $948,352 last year from 2008.
AGCO stock was recently trading up 1.3% at $34.99 a share.