Shell CEO Voser Converts Maximum Allowance of Bonus Into Shares

February 10, 2010, 12:25 PM EST

By Fred Pals

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser converted the maximum proportion of last year’s bonus into stock, reflecting his confidence in the long-term prospects of the company’s shares.

Voser got 50 percent of his 2009 bonus, or the equivalent of 931,838 euros ($1.28 million), converted into 47,121 class-A shares, according to a company filing today to the Securities and Exchanges Commission, or SEC. That’s based on a closing share price of 19.775 euros on Feb. 5.

Shell, which competes with BP Plc as Europe’s biggest oil company, has underperformed its closest rival because of falling output and a greater exposure to refining where earnings have been depressed. Voser plans an additional 1,000 job cuts this year as well as cost savings of $1 billion. Shell’s class-A shares are up 3.9 percent in the past 12 months, lagging behind a 13 percent gain for BP.

The CEO has the option of being paid between 25 percent and 50 percent of his bonus in shares, Rainer Winzenried, a spokesman for The Hague-based Shell, said by telephone. The shares have a lock-up period of three years, Winzenried said.

The company said it would cut 2009 staff bonus payments from previously agreed levels because they don’t reflect the “overall competitive position,” according to an internal Shell memo to staff shown to Bloomberg Feb. 4. Payments will be 12 percent lower, after the company’s bonus scorecard was cut to 1.1 from 1.25, according to the memo.

Both Roles

Voser’s bonus for last year covers the six months he served as chief financial officer and the rest of the year as CEO after succeeding Jeroen van der Veer in July. His total bonus for last year came to 1.86 million euros, up from 1.42 million euros in 2008. Voser’s bonus increased, even after companywide bonus payments were cut, because it reflects the fact he’s paid more as CEO.

Shell’s chief also received 227,560 Class-A shares under the company’s long-term incentive plan. The final award can range from zero to two times the conditional award, depending on the company’s performance over a period of at least three years, according to the filing.

Voser received a total compensation of $6.06 million in 2008, including $3.59 million in salary and bonus, according to Shell’s annual report. Overall numbers for 2009 will be released in March.

–Editors: Stephen Cunningham, Will Kennedy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Pals in Amsterdam at +31-20-589-8563 or [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at +44-20-7073-3603 or [email protected]

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