Tokyo — Nissan Motor Co president Carlos Ghosn, Japan's best-paid automaker executive, received more than one billion yen ($8 million) in salary and bonuses for the first time.
Ghosn was paid a total of 1.035 billion yen for the year ended March 31, an increase of 4% from a year earlier. In dollar terms, his compensation decreased 14% because of the weak yen.
Nissan last month forecast a third straight year of rising profit after the weaker Japanese currency and rising demand in major markets, including the United States, helped net income jump 18% last fiscal year.
Ghosn, who is also CEO of French carmaker Renault SA, has topped the list of Japan's best-paid executives three times since 2010, when the country's financial regulator began requiring publicly traded companies to report the compensation of anyone earning at least 100 million yen, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
The country's top earner was SoftBank Corp president Nikesh Arora, who was paid about 16.6 billion yen last year, including a signing bonus and about two billion yen in stock-related compensation, according to filings made as of June 19.
Among the few foreigners leading a Japanese company, Ghosn, 61, earned more than four times what Toyota Motor Corp president Akio Toyoda did in the fiscal year ended March 2014 — even as Nissan's profit was about one-fifth of Toyota's.
Compensation figures for Toyoda and Honda Motor Co's Takanobu Ito, who stepped down as president this month, are scheduled to be disclosed later this week.
Ghosn, who's headed Nissan since becoming chief operating officer in 1999, is still outearned by his peers at American and European automakers.
The average compensation in 2014 for CEOs at comparable global automakers rose 11% to $28.7 million, Nissan said, citing an analysis of public data compiled by consulting firm Towers Watson.
Alan Mulally, who retired as Ford Motor Co CEO in mid-2014, earned about $22 million last year, according to a proxy statement on the company's website. His successor, Mark Fields, earned $18.6 million. General Motors Co chief Mary Barra, who started the job this year, received total compensation of $16.2 million, the company said in April.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV CEO Sergio Marchionne earned €6.6 million in salary and incentives last year. On top of that he received a €24.7 million bonus, 1.6 million restricted shares and €12 million bonus to be paid when he steps down as CEO, according to the company's annual report.
Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn was paid €15.9 million in 2014, according to the company's annual report.
Renault awarded Ghosn about €3.1 million in compensation for last year, according to its annual financial report.