Icon (Close Menu)

Logout

Murphy Chief Roger Jenkins’ Pay for 2016 Falls 40 Percent

2 min read

Murphy Oil Corp. CEO Roger W. Jenkins took a pay cut of nearly 40 percent in 2016 compared with 2015, with $8.5 million in total compensation compared with just over $14 million in 2015.

Paradoxically, the pay decrease came in a year when the petroleum exploration and production giant fared much better, with a $276 million net loss compared with a staggering $2.27 billion net loss in 2015.

The figures, which were included in a proxy statement filed Friday with the Securities & Exchange commission, reflected “consideration of the company’s performance during the year,” the proxy statement said. It also underlined an ongoing goal, laid out by Jenkins himself in January, to hold “all costs, including our dividend, within cash flow which will maintain our solid balance sheet.”

The board of directors for Murphy, based in El Dorado, reduced its quarterly cash stock dividend to 25 cents from 35 cents in August. A year ago, the company’s compensation committee froze base salaries for all its named executive officers, and cost reductions in the past two years also included rounds of job cuts.

Jenkins’ base salary of $1.3 million was unchanged, and his non-equity bonus was $1.95 million. The big cut came in his stock awards, which went from $7.2 million in 2015 to 2.4 million for 2016.

John W. Eckart, executive vice president and chief financial officer, received total compensation of $2.2 million, down a bit from the $2.65 million he earned in 2015. Walter K. Compton, executive vice president and general counsel, earned about $2.2 million, compared with about $2.7 million in total 2015 compensation.

Two other leaders, Executive Vice Presidents Eugene T. Coleman and Michael K. McFadyen, were named executive officers in 2015. Coleman’s pay for 2016 was just under $3 million, and McFadyen, who is paid in Canadian dollars, received the equivalent $2.7 million.

Publicly traded Murphy’s stock price has declined nearly 19 percent in the past three months, closing on Thursday at $26. It was at $36.24 in April 2016.

The company will review executive compensation, elect directors and vote on the frequency of holding an advisory vote on officers’ pay at its annual stockholders meeting at 10 a.m. May 10 at the South Arkansas Arts Center in El Dorado.

The board’s full slate of directors will be up for a vote, and the board is urging stockholders to endorse having an advisory vote on executive pay annually.

The proxy statement also noted directors’ compensation for 2016. Chairman Claiborne P. Deming, the chairman and former CEO, received $317,501. Other members and their compensation were:

  • T. Jay Collins, $240,022
  • Steven A. Cosse, $275,016
  • Lawrence R. Dickerson, $259,516
  • Elisabeth W. Keller, $29,517
  • James V. Kelley, $272,831
  • Walentin Mirosh, $236,018
  • R. Madison Murphy, $331,611
  • Jeffrey W. Nolan, $265,018
  • Neal E. Schmale, $301,518
  • Laura A. Sugg, $236,703
  • and Caroline G. Theus, $256,149.

The proxy statement also noted that Madison Murphy held the largest percentage of shares of common stock held by directors and named officers at 2.33 percent of shares as of Feb. 13.

Send this to a friend