Arkansas Business

Arkansas Best Corp. CEO Judy R. McReynolds had total compensation of almost $1.35 million in 2011, a 35 percent increase over 2010, according to the corporate proxy statement filed on Tuesday.

The trucking company will hold its annual stockholders' meeting at 8 a.m. on April 24 at the corporate headquarters in Fort Smith. There are no unusual items on the agenda, just reelection of directors, reappointment of Ernst & Young LLP as auditor and the now-routine "say on pay" vote on executive compensation.

McReynolds' base salary increased from $450,000 in 2010 to $525,000 in 2011, and she also received a $383,000 "incentive cash" payment, up from about $143,000 the previous year. Stock awards valued at $329,960 were almost identical to the year before.

Other Arkansas Best executives received smaller salary increases:

• Wesley B. Kemp, who retired as president and CEO of subsidiary Arkansas Best Freight at the end of 2011, was paid a salary of $412,000, up from $400,000, and had total compensation of $1.1 million.
• Senior Vice President J. Lavon Morton and Roy M. Slagle, SVP of the ABF subsidiary, each received $10,000 raises, to $285,000. Morton's total compensation in 2011 was $613,156, and Slagle's was $861,435 thanks to a much larger increase in his pension value.
• CFO Michael Newcity's salary for 2011 was $258,000, up from $190,083 in 2010 - but he was only promoted to the CFO job on June 1 of that year. His total compensation was $549,333.

In January, the company reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.1 million, marking another quarter in which the trucking firm swung back into the black after a loss during the same quarter last year.

The company reported earnings of 5 cents per share compared to a loss of 12 cents per share during the same quarter last year. Revenue improved as well, reaching $463.2 million from $441.1 million last year.