$2 Million for Martha Stewart
The consummate hostess cleaned up as her company rebounded in 2007.
April 8, 2008 — -- NEW YORK (AP) -- Martha Stewart, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., received $2.06 million in compensation for 2007 while company CEO Susan Lyne received a little over $1 million in the year the company returned to profitability, according to a regulatory filing Monday.
Stewart -- who has been back in the limelight with her own TV show and other projects since March 2005, when she completed her prison sentence for lying about a stock sale -- was paid a salary of $900,000 and a bonus of $495,000, the same as in 2006, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. She also received $378,000 under a nonequity incentive plan.
Other compensation totaled $288,854, which was up from the $163,785 she received a year earlier. That included a nonaccountable expense allowance of $100,000, $78,954 for personal use of the company's plane, $62,748 for personal use of certain company personnel, $21,188 for weekend use of car service, $6,858 for life insurance premiums, and $5,000 for personal fitness.
Lyne -- who became chief executive in late 2004, led the company's recovery and is now spearheading its expansion -- received a salary of $900,000, the same as in 2006.
Lyne also received stock and option awards that the company valued at $115,000 on the day they were granted. Lyne's other compensation totaling $9,072 comprised $6,750 in matching contributions to her 401(k) account and life insurance premiums of $2,322 paid by the company.
The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, 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 can differ from the figures listed in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC.
For 2007, Martha Stewart Living swung to a profit of $10.3 million, or 20 cents per share, from a loss of $17 million, or 33 cents per share, in 2006. Revenue rose 14 percent to $327.9 million.
The latest expansion move by the company was its acquisition announced in February of Chef Emeril Lagasse's media and merchandising businesses for $50 million.
Last year, Martha Stewart Living unveiled an exclusive launch of Martha Stewart Collection of home products that is being sold exclusively at Macy's stores and on macys.com.
But Martha Stewart Living's stock -- after rebounding in 2005 and 2006 -- has been on the decline since late 2007, trading at the low end of its 52-week range of $5.22 and $19.50. Shares of Martha Stewart rose 36 cents, or 4.9 percent, to $7.72 Monday.