Despite sales slide, Bristol-Myers CEO nabs 15% raise to $17.2M

Bristol-Myers Squibb CEO Lamberto Andreotti got a 15% raise last year. And that's on top of a 26% increase the year before. Andreotti's 2012 compensation package amounted to $17.2 million, up from $11.8 million two years ago.

BMS CEO Lamberto Andreotti

But wait, you say. Bristol-Myers' sales took a big slide last year. Yes, indeed; the company reported a 17% decline in net sales for 2012, to $17.6 billion. That's because it lost patent protection on two big product lines, the blockbuster blood thinner Plavix and the blood pressure remedies Avapro and Avalide. And 2013 sales aren't expected to grow either. In fact, the company's official guidance pegs sales at $17 billion at the most.

Still, BMS's compensation committee figured Andreotti deserved a reward for delivering some positive developments during rough times. Andreotti won a salary increase last year, to $1.6 million, to bring his base pay up to "competitive market levels," Dow Jones notes. His incentive pay came in at $3.8 million, down from last year's $4.2 million--but still more than $1 million over his original bonus target.

The committee said it boosted Andreotti's incentive pay to 157% of that target for engineering the Amylin Pharmaceuticals ($AMLN) buyout; presiding over the approvals of the blood thinner Eliquis and diabetes fighter Forxiga; and "delivering positive financial results" even as Plavix fell off patent--and lost 64% of its sales.

Andreotti's stock awards also leapt, to $9.7 million from $7.4 million, and his pension value and deferred compensation increased by $1.2 million. Bristol-Myers also contributed $818,078 to his employee savings plans.

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