LONDON-- BP PLC's shareholders appeared to approve a hefty raise
for Chief Executive Bob Dudley on Thursday, ignoring the
recommendation of some investor advisory firms to vote against the
proposed pay package.
About 11% of investors who voted in advance of the British oil
company's annual meeting rejected the company's executive
remuneration policy, making it by far the most controversial of the
25 resolutions under consideration. The final tally of votes hasn't
yet been counted, but it rarely differs materially from what early
voters indicate.
Mr. Dudley is set to receive $12.7 million in salary and bonus
for 2014, an increase of 25% from 2013. The 2014 pay package
includes $3.4 million deferred from his 2011 bonus, as well as a
$2.6 million increase in the value of his pension.
Those who opposed the pay package included Standard Life
Investments, which holds nearly 1.5% of the oil major's equity.
"We voted against the remuneration report because of continuing
concerns about the complexity of remuneration at BP and the pension
arrangements for certain U.S. executives, including Bob Dudley," a
Standard Life Investments spokesperson said.
Mr. Dudley's pay package became an issue after BP reported in
2014 its first quarterly loss since the deadly 2010 Gulf of Mexico
disaster upended the company's profits and strategy. The company,
like other oil producers, has been buffeted by an oil-price crash
that has forced it to cut spending and lay off some workers.
"We've got to plan in BP for a lower-for-longer world," Mr.
Dudley said on the sidelines of the meeting. "I'm not optimistic
from the fundamentals that it's going to bounce back," he
added.
Standard Life and investor advisory firm Glass Lewis both took
up the pay issue. But when it came time to discuss executive pay at
Thursday's meeting, not a single question was put to the board
about Mr. Dudley's compensation.
Instead, the bulk of questions focused on BP's climate-change
policies and exposure to political risk. One shareholder even
shared his tips for road-tripping through the southern U.S.
states.
Investors at the company's annual general meeting where the vote
was to take place seemed more concerned about the lack of a hot
lunch than Mr. Dudley's bonus.
"Some of us travel very far to attend this meeting and request
BP to give us a nice hot meal instead of sandwiches," one investor
declared, prompting a round of laughs from the audience.
Other resolutions appeared set to pass without problems,
including a rare board-backed shareholder push for more disclosure
around risks stemming from climate change.
Write to Sarah Kent at sarah.kent@wsj.com
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