Comcast lists top officers' salaries

Comcast Corp. boosted the compensation for top executive Brian L. Roberts 8 percent in 2013, to $31.4 million, the company said in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer, was paid $29.1 million in 2012.

A company spokesman said Monday that the compensation was based on Comcast's 2013 financial performance and was unrelated to the proposed $45.2 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. that was announced in February and was the topic of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington last week.

Comcast says 75 percent of Roberts' 2013 compensation was tied to the company's performance. The cable TV giant's stock rose 41 percent in 2013, compared with 29 percent for the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Michael Angelakis, vice chairman and chief financial officer, was compensated $19.2 million in 2013, down 17.6 percent from $23.3 million in 2012.

Stephen Burke, head of Comcast's NBCUniversal unit, was compensated $31.1 million, 18 percent higher than the $26.3 million he received in 2012.

Neil Smit, president of the cable division, earned $17.4 million, down from $18.3 million in 2012. Executive vice president David L. Cohen was compensated $14 million, down from $15.9 million.

Comcast bases executive pay on salary, stock awards, option awards, incentive pay, pension accrual, and other benefits, including the costs associated with use of corporate aircraft.

The 2013 pay for top corporate officers was contained in Comcast's definitive proxy statement, filed with the SEC Friday. The document also listed two activist proposals for vote at the shareholders meeting.

The Episcopal Church has asked the company to disclose lobbying activities that include payments for "grassroots lobbying communications," and Comcast's membership and payments to nonprofit groups that "write and endorse model legislation."

N. Kurt Barnes, treasurer of the church's Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, said Monday, "The influence of businesses and other large donors is significant; and ongoing lobbying by corporations has a sustained influence on public policy. This resolution does not seek to limit lobbying by Comcast, but rather requests that the company report on its expenditures and its policies for deciding how to expend corporate resources on lobbying."

Comcast was one of the largest corporate lobbyists in Washington in 2013, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics. Comcast has recommended that shareholders vote against the proposal.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' pension fund has asked Comcast to eliminate golden parachutes for executives in the event of a takeover. Comcast has recommended that shareholders vote against that proposal, too.

Comcast's 12 directors will stand for election or reelection. They are Kenneth Bacon, Sheldon M. Bonovitz, Edward D. Breen, Joseph J. Collins, J. Michael Cook, Gerald L. Hassell, Jeffrey A. Honickman, Eduardo G. Mestre, Brian L. Roberts, Ralph J. Roberts, Jonathan A. Rodgers, and Judith Rodin.

Comcast recommends that shareholders vote for the directors.

The annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. May 21 at the Kimmel Center. Doors open at 8.

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