Sony Corp. (6758) Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai received 153 million yen ($1.6 million) in annual compensation as the Japanese electronics maker returned to its first profit in five years.
That’s 74 percent higher than the 88 million yen he received for the previous fiscal year, when he served as an executive deputy president, according to a company filing today with Japan’s Finance Ministry. Former Vice Chairman Ryoji Chubachi, who retired last week, received 194 million yen including retirement funds, the filing shows.
Compensation for Hirai, 52, was lower than the 184 million yen earned by Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) President Akio Toyoda, who led led a profit revival since taking control in June 2009. While leading the maker of PlayStation 4 video-game consoles and Bravia televisions to report a net income, Hirai gave up his bonus for the year ended in March as the main electronics operation remained unprofitable.
Hirai pledged to shareholders last week he will take bolder measures to revive the electronics maker, which is losing money in TVs and smartphones. “We expect our smartphone operation will improve earnings,” he said. “Making the TV unit profitable is a goal that must be met. We will accelerate expansion in emerging markets and new businesses.”
Sony gained 1.7 percent to close at 2,035 yen in Tokyo trading today. The stock is up 8.4 percent since Third Point LLC founder Daniel Loeb proposed an initial public offering of the company’s music and movie assets last month. The broader Topix index is down 11 percent in the same period.
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