According to Associated Press calculations, Sun Microsystems Inc. Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz received a compensation package which the company valued at $7.7 million for beating financial goals. The new CEO helped the server and software maker emerge from its prolonged dot-com-era-induced slump and return to consistent profitability. Schwartz, who replaced Sun co-founder Scott McNealy as chief executive in April 2006, saw his base salary increase 9 percent over his pay before the promotion to $980,769 during the latest fiscal year.
Schwartz"s pay package included substantial bonus money - $2.5 million - for hitting certain financial targets, including boosting revenue and operating profit margin, which measures how much a company makes before interest and taxes on each dollar of revenue. In the fiscal year ended in June, Sun pulled in $13.87 billion in sales, a 6 percent increase over the prior year, and had $309 million in operating profit, which compared to operating losses of $870 million in the prior year. Improved profitability of its products and Schwartz"s cost-cutting campaign, which has included cutting about 4,000 jobs through layoffs and attrition since June 2006, also helped lift Sun"s financial fortunes.