Microsoft has said that the compnay regards chief executive officer Steve Ballmer as ‘underpaid.’
Microsoft said that for the second year in a row Ballmer, 55, was not awarded his full bonus for fiscal 2011. Ballmer received $1.38m in pay, including a bonus of $682,500, which is equal to 100% of his base salary.
Ballmer owns 3.95% of the company’s shares. According to Forbes, Ballmer is the 33rd richest person in the world with a fortune of $14.5bn.
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Microsoft said Ballmer’s bonus was half of the maximum he could have been awarded. The company cited lower-than-expected sales of phones based on Windows software and a slump in revenue in its Windows unit.
In the filing, Microsoft said the board regards Ballmer as "underpaid."
The board praised Ballmer for the company’s operating income, development of Windows and partnerships with Facebook and Nokia. However, the directors raised concerns about lower-than-expcetd sales of Windows software.
Last year, Ballmer also received a bonus equaling his salary. He was then criticised for the failure of the Kin phone.
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According to Reuters, Ballmer’s compensation rose only about 2% from last year to $1.38m.
