Stellantis shareholders approved a dividend distribution and gave their blessing to the plan covering compensation for CEO Carlos Tavares on Thursday during the company’s annual general meeting in the Netherlands.
The automaker, which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands, is set for a $4.6 billion (4.2 billion euros) dividend distribution that should mean a payout of $1.46 per Stellantis common share traded on the New York Stock Exchange, according to the company.
The payment date is set for May 4.
The shareholders also took a positive advisory vote on the 2023 remuneration report, a switch from last year’s report, which the majority of shareholders rejected.
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Chairman John Elkann said the company pays its people based on merit.
“The largely positive vote of all of our shareholders, including our reference shareholders, the founding families, our employee representatives, our institutional and retail investors reflect the adherence to the principle of a meritocratic culture as I highlighted last year at our AGM. Our remuneration report reflects our (belief) of rewarding performance based on the achievement of ambitious goals, both financial and ESG-related objectives,” Elkann said, referencing the acronym for environmental, social and governance issues.
Elkann, in his comments, pointed to the company’s strong performance in 2022.
“In 2022, we posted strong financial results that set us apart from our competitors with a combination of scale and double-digit growth. We are among the top three in our industry by revenues and margins and were No. 1 in absolute operating profit of $25.65 billion (23.2 billion euros),” he said.
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Total compensation for Tavares, including the value of fringe benefits, increased in 2022, but what Stellantis described as his actual compensation decreased, according to the company. That total compensation, reported previously by the Free Press, was $24.8 million (23.5 million euros) in 2022 compared with $21 million (19.2 million euros) in 2021, based on the exchange rate then.
The company said Tavares’ actual compensation, including cash and vested equity awards, decreased from $18.8 million (17 million euros) in 2021 to $16.5 million (14.9 million euros) for 2022.
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The company said it sought feedback after the shareholder vote on remuneration last year. One of the issues raised related to the “retention package” for Mike Manley, former CEO of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Stellantis was formed from the merger of FCA and Peugeot maker PSA Group in 2021, and Manley, who retired as Stellantis’ head of Americas in November 2021, was paid $54.1 million (51.2 million euros) in 2022, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Feedback from shareholders and others deemed that to be “insufficiently disclosed and excessive,” but the company, in a letter, said it was granted by the FCA board “prior to the merger to secure his contribution to the merger and the successful launch of the merged entity.”
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.