Compensation for Viacom (NYSE:VIA) CEO Philippe Dauman Increased to $34 Million in 2009

Viacom (NYSE:VIA) CEO Philippe Dauman and Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone enjoyed major increases in compensation for 2009, with Dauman's pay surging by 22 percent.

With the renewal of the contract for Dauman this year, it is expected his pay will rise again for 2010. Viacom announced it had extended the contract of Dauman from 2011 to 2016. The former contract was set to expire next year.

In 2008 Dauman had a hefty compensation of $27. million, with the 22 percent increase bringing the total to about $34 million in 2009, according to company filings on Friday.

Per the new contract, the base salary of Dauman will increase to $3.5 million from the previous $2.5 million prior contract awarded him. If he reaches his performance bonuses, Dauman will receive $12 million, in contrast to the $9.5 million before. New week Dauman also gets options on 2 millions shares, while also recently receiving 1 million share units related to performance.

Performance-related compensation increased from $17.2 million in 2008 to $18.7 million in 2009.

For the year Viacom increased earnings from $1.25 billion to $1.61 billion, which on a earnings per share basis rose from $2 in 2008 to $2.65 a share in 2009. Revenue during that time dropped to $13.62 billion because of the tight advertising market.
 
The share price for the company soared in 2009, rising from $19.06 to $29.73 a share; a gain of 56 percent.
 
Compensation for Sumner Redstone, as far as percentages go, was close to Dauman, increasing by 21 percent in 2009 to $16.9 million. In 2008 Redstone's compensation was $14 million.

Similar to Dauman, Redstone was rewarded on performance while his salary of $1.25 million remained the same. Redstone received a cash bonus of $6.3 million, up from $3.9 million, and stock options and restricted stock grants were up to $9.3 million from the $8.6 million in 2008.