Bill Ford Receives 2004 Compensation Package Worth More Than $22M for Role As Chairman, CEO

DETROIT April 7, 2005; Dee-Ann Durbin writing for the AP reported that Bill Ford Jr. received a compensation package valued at just over $22 million in 2004 in his role as chairman and chief executive of Ford Motor Co., the nation's second biggest automaker said Wednesday.

The compensation package was about double what he received the previous year and came as the company's profit soared sevenfold from 2003. His pay package included no cash salary in either year.

Ford, whose great-grandfather Henry Ford founded the company 102 years ago, was awarded 103,882 shares of restricted common stock worth $1.5 million and a bonus of 841,008 shares worth approximately $10.5 million, according to a proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bill Ford also received a stock-option grant for 1.5 million shares with a strike price of $16.49 that will vest in three years. That means Ford has the option of purchasing those shares at $16.49 per share, a performance target for the company. The present value of the grant is $9.9 million, the company said. His other compensation for 2004 totaled $266,000.

Ford Motor shares rose 1 cent to close at $11.11 in trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. They've been trading between $10.94 and $16.48 for the past year.

The company dramatically increased its profit in 2004 to $3.5 billion, or $1.73 a share, from a profit of $495 million, or 27 cents a share, in 2003.

As such, Ford's top executives were rewarded accordingly, with all receiving double or nearly double the bonuses they received last year.

Jim Padilla, Ford's president and chief operating officer, earned $966,667 in salary and a $2 million bonus that consisted of $1.18 million in cash and 69,000 shares worth $854,910. Padilla's compensation included an additional $314,131 for items such as use of a company plane.

Padilla also was awarded 246,696 shares of restricted common stock for his 2004 performance and 50,000 restricted stock equivalents as a long-term incentive with a combined fair market value of $3.7 million at the time of the grant.

Padilla's 2003 salary was $900,000 and his bonus also was $900,000.

Greg Smith, Ford's executive vice president and president of the Americas division, earned $756,667 in salary and a $1.1 million bonus that included $836,000 in cash and 23,000 shares worth $284,970.

The company also reported the salaries of two longtime executives who retired earlier this year. Nick Scheele, the company's former president and chief operating officer, earned $1 million in salary and a $1.5 million bonus. Former vice chairman Allan Gilmour earned $1.05 million in salary and a $1.5 million bonus.

Bill Ford's compensation up from a package valued at around $14.6 million in 2003.

Bill Ford was granted 4.4 million shares in stock options in 2003 versus 1.5 million shares in 2004. Under new federal accounting rules scheduled to go into effect in June, companies must treat stock options as an expense in their financial statements, so many companies are changing the way they reward executives.

For the second year, Bill Ford committed portions of his bonus to a scholarship program for the children of Ford employees and to several Detroit charities, the company said.

Ford Motor is mailing its proxy statement to shareholders Wednesday. The company is scheduled to hold its annual meeting May 12 in Wilmington, Del.

Ford alerted shareholders that they will be voting on seven proposals at the meeting, including one measure sponsored by shareholders that would require Ford to reveal how much it spends lobbying against tougher fuel-economy restrictions and another that would require Ford to link its executive pay to improvements in emissions. Ford's board of directors opposes both proposals.