Walgreen CEO’s Pay Cut As Earnings Slip By Over 20%

Updated on

Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) CEO and President Gregory D. Wasson saw his pay package shrink by 0.6 percent, to less than $12 million, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to a Deerfield III. – the company’s annual proxy statement filed on Monday – Wasson, 54, received compensation valued at roughly $11.4 million for the fiscal year ending August 31st. That figure represents a one percent drop compared to his remuneration for 2011.

Walgreen CEO’s Pay Cut As Earnings Slip By Over 20%

Wasson, who became CEO of Walgreen in 2009, this year received a salary of $1.3 million – equivalent to an eight percent increase from the previous year. Wasson also received a performance-related bonus of $1.2 million, which is equivalent to 57 percent smaller than 2011’s bonus. The executive’s stock and options came to a total of $8.9 million, bringing his pay packet to a total of $11.6 million.

Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG), which is the largest drugstore retailer operator in the US, faced a drop in earnings of 21 percent this year, down to $2.13 billion. The fall in earnings was partly caused because Walgreen recorded a $434 million gain from the sale of its pharmacy benefits business during the previous year.

Revenues were also affected by a contract dispute with Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ:ESRX) that caused clients to file their prescriptions elsewhere. Revenues slipped by one percent, down to $71.63 billion.

The company spent $4 billion in cash and more than 83 million shares for a 45 percent ownership stake in Alliance Boots, a Swiss company that runs the largest drugstore chain in the UK. Walgreen has stated that the deal makes the company the single largest purchaser of prescription drugs.

Another acquisition the company made this year was the purchase of a 144-store regional drugstore chain that includes USA Drug and Med-X, among others.

The company’s quarterly dividend also saw a raise to 27.5 cents per share, up from 22.5 cents. According to its proxy statement, this represents the largest rate in Walgreen’s 111-year history.

For the fiscal year ended 31 August 2012, Walgreen Company revenues decreased 1% to $71.63B. Net income decreased 22% to $2.13B. Revenues reflect Comp. Drugstore Prescription Sales – % decrease from 3.3 to -6.1%, Retail Sales decrease of 1% to $71.63B. Net income also reflects Gain on sale of business increase from $434M (income) to $0K, Interest Expense increase of 20% to $97M (expense). Dividend per share increased from $0.75 to $0.95.

Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) runs over 8,000 drug stores throughout all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The companies main competitors include, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE:CVS), The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR),  and Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT).

Leave a Comment