Kroger Execs Exceeded Benchmarks, but Bonuses Down

CINCINNATI — Kroger’s executive team exceeded its 2008 bonus thresholds by 5%, although total compensation was down due to having beaten target bonuses by a greater amount in 2007, the retailer said in a proxy statement filed with federal regulators. David Dillon, chief executive officer of Kroger, received total compensation of $8.25 million in 2008, consisting of $1.2 million in base salary, 105% of a $1.5 million bonus target, stock valued at $5.3 million and other compensation t

CINCINNATI — Kroger’s executive team exceeded its 2008 bonus thresholds by 5%, although total compensation was down due to having beaten target bonuses by a greater amount in 2007, the retailer said in a proxy statement filed with federal regulators.

David Dillon, chief executive officer of Kroger, received total compensation of $8.25 million in 2008, consisting of $1.2 million in base salary, 105% of a $1.5 million bonus target, stock valued at $5.3 million and other compensation totaling $170,000, the proxy statement said. Dillon in 2007 earned around $9.1 million in 2007, mainly as a result of having achieved 128% of bonus targets.

Kroger in 2008 awarded bonuses for a combination of identical sales and EBITDA growth as well as for performance against internal benchmarks for its strategic and capital projects. Kroger posted 4.9% annual identical-sales growth, exceeding the 4% target, and EBITDA of $4.09 billion, beating the bonus benchmark of $4.07 billion.