DR Horton Inc. (DHI) paid out bonuses of nearly $4 million to its two top executives, rewarding the building giant's first profitable year since 2006.

The Texas-based builder's compensation committee granted Chairman Donald Horton and Chief Executive Donald Tomnitz both $1.99 million, 2% of the company's consolidated pre-tax income for the fiscal 2010 year ended Sept. 30, the company reported in a securities filing.

DR Horton saw net income of $245.1 million, an improvement from a loss of $549.8 million in 2009. But its 21,000 closings, while up from a year earlier, remain far below its performance during the peak.

The home building sector continues battling a severe slump, one that has dramatically reduced income and sales nationwide. Even Horton has grown bearish on the immediate future. "Until there's some consumer confidence, until we start to grow jobs, I think we're going to continue to be faced with rather flat demand," Tomnitz said on an earnings conference call last week.

DR Horton, which builds in 72 markets across 26 states, did not respond to a request for comment.

Horton and Tomnitz will not receive raises on their base salaries, which were $1 million and $900,000 respectively. Both men saw their base salaries more than double between 2009 and 2010 because they "ranked near the bottom of the peer group average and median base salaries," the company stated in its latest proxy.

Their cash bonuses came in at $2.3 million each last year. The total 2009 compensation, which includes the bonus and stock awards, totaled $6.4 million for Tomnitz and $7.6 million for Horton, according to Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. The median compensation for 11 builders--with 14 executives --was $3.7 million. MDC Holdings Inc.'s (MDC) Larry Mizel topped the list with $7.8 million, while Paul Saville at NVR Inc. saw the lowest, $1.2 million.

When measuring the 2009 cash bonus--a median $472,000--KB Home's (KBH) Jeffrey Mezger's $2.75 million led the list. According to Equilar, four builders did not receive a bonus.

The firm also studied companies on the S&P 500 index and measured the 2009 median pay package at $7.5 million. When compared to companies of Horton's size, the total compensation "numbers don't necessarily stand out," said Aaron Boyd, Equilar's head of research. "That said, compared to the other companies in the home building industry, their numbers are higher than most."

-By Dawn Wotapka, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2193; dawn.wotapka@dowjones.com
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