PAM Executives See Increased Salaries, Lower Total Compensations

Dan Cushman

President and CEO Dan Cushman of PAM Transport Inc. of Tontitown received a salary bump but his overall compensation was lower in 2015, according to a proxy statement filed by the company with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Cushman, 61, earned slightly more than $1 million in total compensation, down from $1.38 million in 2014. Cushman’s salary rose from $461,173 in 2014 to $496,377 in 2015.

Cushman received $500,032 in incentives — an increase from the $470,028 in received in incentives in 2014 — but no discretionary bonus or stock awards in 2015. In 2014, Cushman had a bonus of $224,500 and $213,950 in stock awards.

PAM reported revenue of $417.1 million in 2015, an increase from the $410.9 it reported in 2014. Income rose, too, to $21.4 million, up from $13.5 million in 2014.

CFO Allen West had similar compensation results. His annual salary rose from $228,874 in 2014 to $278,349 in 2015, but his total compensation dropped from $514,820 in 2014 to $456,979 in 2015.

Like Cushman, West did not receive bonus or stock awards in 2015, compared to 2014 when he received $128,313 combined. His incentive plan compensation rose from $150,010 to $171,007.

PAM announced its annual shareholders meeting will be April 26 in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, and also the headquarters of CenTra Inc., a holding company controlled by PAM’s majority shareholders, the Moroun family. PAM Chairman of the Board Matthew Moroun is the majority stockholder of CenTra, and board member Manuel Moroun is the president and CEO of CenTra; Matthew Moroun controls 58.63 percent of PAM’s stock.

Four of the eight directors up for reelection at PAM’s are former or current CenTra executives, including Matthew and Manuel Moroun. The meeting’s agenda also includes the confirmation of Grant Thornton LLP as the company’s independent accountant.

In its proxy filing, PAM disclosed that subsidiaries of CenTra or other companies controlled or owned by the Morouns paid PAM $11,509,887 for transportation, maintenance and other fees. PAM disclosed it had paid $15,796,111 to CenTra subsidiaries or other Moroun-controlled companies.

A majority of that was $10,592,550 paid to Oakland Financial Corporation for commercial liability coverage. Matthew Moroun is the principal shareholder and chairman of the board of Oakland Financial Corporation.