JCPenney’s business isn’t exactly on the upswing yet, but the salary of CEO Mike Ullman is a different story.
The retailer disclosed Monday that Ullman, who returned to the helm last year to clean up a mess left by former CEO Ron Johnson, is getting his salary hiked by 85 percent, to $1.5 million.
In addition, Ullman will be eligible for a $3 million bonus and $5.5 million in stock awards that could push his total pay package north of $10 million this year, regulatory filings show.
That’s more than quadruple the $2.4 million in salary and perks Ullman earned last year as he scrambled to shore up Penney’s finances following Johnson’s disastrous revamp effort that spurred a $1 billion loss on a 25 percent sales drop in 2012.
Still, it’s a far cry from the $33.7 million in salary and stock awards that Ullman bagged in 2011 as he handed the reins to Johnson.
Having retaken the helm last spring, Ullman has been aggressively reversing Johnson’s ill-fated move to ban coupons and sales events.
Last month, Ullman startled Wall Street with a bold promise to complete Penney’s turnaround this year, despite a lack of conclusive evidence that the retailer’s business has yet turned a corner.
In the fiscal year that ended Feb. 1, Penney’s loss widened to $1.4 billion as sales dropped 9 percent. The company, however, swung to a fourth-quarter profit of $35 million versus a year-earlier loss of $552 million.
Penney shares surged 15 percent following Ullman’s Feb. 26 comments and have held their ground since. On Monday, the stock gained 1.3 percent, to close at $8.60.
Nevertheless, the shares are still below the price Ullman paid last November, when he shelled out $1 million to buy shares at $8.95 apiece.