Molson Coors CEO Swinburn Total 2010 Pay Slid 18% To $7.76 Million

  • Reading time:2 min(s) read

Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP) President and Chief Executive Peter Swinburn saw his pay fall 18% to $7.76 million in 2010, due in part to a change in pension value and stock awards, the company said in a securities filing late Thursday.

Swinburn received compensation totaling $9.46 million in 2009.

Molson Coors, whose brands include Miller Lite, Coors Light and Carling, paid Swinburn a base salary of $941,667 in 2010, compared with $875,000 the prior year. He will receive base pay of $1.08 million in the current year.

Swinburn received stock awards valued at $2.31 million, down from $3.5 million in the prior year. His stock option awards were valued at $1.54 million in 2010, up 10% from 2009.

Non-equity incentive compensation slid to $1.9 million from $2.1 million.

Molson Coors is beginning to see some rebound in beer sales as drinkers return to bars and restaurants. However, volumes declined throughout 2010.

The company said in the filing that it “made good progress” in building brands, innovating, reducing costs and strengthening its balance sheet. The company wasn’t immediately available to provide additional details.

Peter Coors, chairman of the boards of Molson Coors and Miller Coors, received 2010 pay valued at $3.84 million, up 2% from the prior year. His base salary was about $850,000 in 2009 and 2010. The company said that because Coors is “an iconic figure” in the U.S. beer industry, there are no easy comparisons to peers in his position. Also, because Coors is a member of one of the company’s founding families and a large shareholder–he personally held 13.2% of shares outstanding as of March 28–he would be “motivated” to stay with the company without retention payments.