Range Resources CEO's Compensation up 23 Percent

The chairman and chief executive of independent oil and gas company Range Resources Corp. received compensation valued at $7.4 million in 2008, a 23 percent increase from the previous year, according to an Associated Press analysis of data filed with regulators Monday.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based company paid John H. Pinkerton $557,500 in base salary, up 11 percent from the previous year, and a performance-based cash bonus of $945,000, about flat with his 2007 payout.

Range Resources also awarded Pinkerton $131,014 in perks, including $27,484 for a personal secretary, $29,257 in disability insurance premiums and $4,443 for his spouse's travel.

But the bulk of his compensation came in the form of stock- and option-based awards valued at $5.7 million when they were granted in 2008, up 29 percent from similar awards granted during the previous year.

However, the stock awards are now worth much less due to a drop in the company's share price, and the options are currently "underwater." The exercise price on about $2.6 million worth of options is $75, well above the stock's Monday closing price of $43.85. That means the options are currently of little value absent a major rebound in share price.

The Associated Press compensation formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. 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 Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.

According to Range Resources' filing, the compensation committee benchmarks its executive pay practices against a group of companies that includes Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Forest Oil Corp. and Noble Energy Inc.