Baxter International Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Parkinson Jr.'s compensation fell nearly 15 percent last year to $11.8 million, according to regulatory filings with the U.S. government.
The drug and medical-device maker based in Deerfield, Ill., paid Parkinson a salary $1.3 million, roughly the same as in 2008. Parkinson's performance bonus fell 7.7 percent to $2.5 million. Other compensation, which was mostly dividend payments, rose slightly to $233,143
The majority of Parkinson's compensation came from stock options and awards worth $7.8 million when they were granted on March 4, 2009. That total was down nearly 20 percent from the $9.7 million awarded in 2008.
Baxter filed its annual proxy with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 19.
The company sells a broad range of hospital supplies, including blood plasma, kidney dialysis machines and cancer drugs.
Its shares rose 6.5 percent last year to $58.68 as the broader markets recovered. Its profit rose to $2.21 billion, or $3.59 per share, up from profit of $2.01 billion, or $3.16 per share, in 2008.
Baxter was better able to weather the economic downturn than many of its pharmaceutical peers because many of its products are indispensable staples of medical care, such as drug pumps, intravenous formulas and vaccines.
It has used its double-digit sales gains to invest in research and development, allocating $256 million in the last quarter of 2009. The company is looking into several experimental therapies, including an avian flu vaccine and using adult stem cells to treat heart disease
The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.
The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, making the AP total different in most cases than the total reported by companies to the SEC.