Nutrien CEO’S pay declines after ‘difficult year’ in ag sector

The head of the world’s largest fertilizer company saw his annual incentive payments fall last year, as the potash miner failed to meet performance targets set by its board of directors.

Nutrien Ltd. CEO Chuck Magro took home a pay package worth US$12.4 million in 2019, down from the US$12.9 million he was paid in 2018, as the company’s share price fell.

Keith Martell, chair of the company’s human resources and compensation committee, noted in the shareholder’s report that it was a “difficult year” for the agricultural sector, which “took a toll on global fertilizer prices and reduced demand for crop nutrients.”

Nutrien exceeded its earning per share target in 2018, with its stock price gaining US$2.69. In 2019, however, the company earned US$2.17 per share, below the US$3 per share target. The company’s performance for 2019 is reflected in Magro’s pay, as it has a “pay-for-performance philosophy around executive compensation” noted Will Tigley, manager of media and digital communication for Nutrien, in a statement on Thursday.

Magro “delivered strong earning despite challenging market conditions resulting from unprecedented poor weather conditions and trade uncertainties,” the company document read.

Magro’s pay package is made up of $1.7 million in base salary; most of his compensation is dependant on individual, corporate and health, safety and environmental performance.

The senior executives are evaluated in these areas and the CEO has the opportunity to earn a cap of 200 times his salary. While in 2018 Magro received 197 as a “performance multiplier,” he earned 99.4 in 2019, about half of the previous score.

While Magro’s earnings declined last year, the head of the other large publicly-traded corporation with significant operations in Saskatchewan got a raise.

Cameco Corp. CEO Tim Gitzel earned a 3.5 per cent increase, bringing his total salary to $7,024,798. His annual incentives declined from the year prior by $78,000, but corporate filings note Gitzel’s “strong corporate performance” in a “difficult market.”

The uranium miner has faced financial challenges leading to cutbacks since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster sent uranium prices spinning downward. Cameco corporate filings note that this event “makes setting performance targets extremely challenging.”

Magro and Gitzel were among the country’s highest paid chief executives in 2018. The Nutrien CEO was ranked 10th, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ annual executive compensation report, while Cameco’s CEO was in 83rd place.