Boeing CEO total compensation up in 2009

Boeing Co Chief Executive James McNerney earned USD 19.4 million in 2009, up 17% from the previous year, as the company was dogged by declining aircraft orders and military budget cuts, the company said in its proxy filing on Monday.

The figure includes McNerney's salary, bonuses, stock and options award and changes to his pension. Excluding the value of benefits and perquisites unrelated to performance, McNerney's compensation was down 37.7% at USD 9.1 million.

McNerney's cash bonus based on annual financial targets rose 58.5% to USD 2.3 million from USD 1.5 million in 2008, but it was well below his annual bonus of USD 4.3 million in 2007. His salary rose 0.8% to USD 1.93 million, Boeing said.

In the filing, Chicago-based Boeing said its compensation committee determined the company's economic profit after adjustments came to USD 2.4 billion, below target performance of USD 2.6 billion.

The decline resulted largely from a drop in the value of his stock that vested in 2009, as well as a longer-term economic profit model that showed company's economic profit from 2007 to 2009 was USD 8.3 billion, below the target performance of  USD 10.7 billion.

Earlier this year, Boeing said commercial plane deliveries, which immediately affect the company's financial performance, rose 28% in 2009. But gross orders fell 61% to 263 airplanes last year amid a steep decline in air travel and freight transport.

The shares of Boeing, a Dow component, rose 23% in 2009 and closed down 0.62% at USD 69.40 for the day on the New York Stock Exchange.