Home Depot CEO waives $1.2M bonus

Home Depot Chief Executive Frank Blake waived his $1.2 million cash bonus for 2008, and none of the company’s top executives will get raises this year, according to a regulatory filing by the company Monday.

But his total compensation, when calculated to include the estimated value of stocks and options granted in the year, rose to $9.24 million in 2008, compared to $7.64 million in 2007. Most of the increase was in the value of his stock awards, granted on March 19, 2008 at a price of $26.84 a share. Friday’s closing price was $23.63.

While Blake waived his cash bonus, three of the chain’s five top-paid officers got bonuses in the range of 35 to 48 percent of their base salaries, the filing shows. A fourth executive received no bonus because her unit didn’t meet company goals.

All of the executives have forfeited the use of company cars in 2009, and they are losing long-term life insurance and “tax gross up” payments to cover income taxes.

None will receive salary increases in 2009, the company said, due to the “difficult economic environment.”

The moves come as the world’s largest home improvement retailer battles a historic housing downturn and deep recession. In the past year, Home Depot had its first quarterly loss in more than two decades, laid off thousands of workers, and closed underperforming stores and its Home Depot Expo unit.

Base salaries in 2008 for top officers were essentially flat. Blake’s base salary rose by $5,769 to $1.013 million, while Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome’s salary fell $5,192 to $901,923, the filing shows.

No new cash grants were made under the company’s long-term incentive plan.

And the company added a “performance-based vesting feature” to its restricted stock awards, making them forfeitable if operating profit is less than 80 percent of the management incentive plan for the fiscal year.

Total pay for executives, as calculated by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, includes salary, bonus, non-equity incentive plan compensation, the estimated value of stocks and options granted in the year and other compensation, such as corporate cars and life insurance premiums.

The pay information is in a preliminary proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The proxy also announced that Home Depot’s annual shareholders meeting is set for May 28 at the Cobb Galleria Centre, near the company’s headquarters.