Dell chief executive's 2009 compensation up 5.7%

The value of the compensation granted to Dell Inc. Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell rose 5.7 percent in fiscal 2009, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures disclosed in a regulatory filing, even as sinking computer sales hammered the PC maker's earnings.

The value of Michael Dell's total compensation package rose to $2.11 million for the year that ended May 1, compared with $1.99 million in fiscal 2008.

The CEO's base salary dipped 2 percent to $931,731 from $950,000 in 2008, according to the proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Instead, the increase in Michael Dell's compensation came entirely in the form of retirement matches and security costs. In fiscal 2009, he received $11,500 in company matches to his retirement plans and $1.16 million for personal and home security. In 2008, the CEO received $9,000 in retirement plans matching contributions and $1.03 million for security. Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn would not say how security funds are spent.

Such high security expenses are not unheard of. For example, Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos received $1.2 million for personal security in 2009.

As in 2008, Michael Dell did not receive a bonus or stock or option grants.

Dell, the No. 2 PC maker in the world behind Hewlett-Packard Co., reported its profit fell 63 percent in the 2009 fiscal year as the economic meltdown decimated technology spending by both businesses and consumers. The typically brisk holiday quarter was the industry's worst in six years, according to researchers at IDC, and PC sales sank about 7 percent in the first three months of the calendar year.

In January through March, the Round Rock, Texas-based company fared worse than its larger competitor. Worldwide, HP's computer shipments edged up 3 percent while Dell's plunged 17 percent, and HP pushed ahead of Dell in U.S. PC shipments.

The Associated Press compensation formula aims to isolate the value a company's board placed on its executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. In general, it includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.