Waters CEO Gets 7.5 Percent Compensation Boost

DAMIAN J. TROISE

NEW YORK (AP) — The chairman, president and chief executive of analytical instrument maker Waters Corp. received a 7.5 percent boost to just over $2.3 million in compensation in 2008, according to an Associated Press analysis of data filed with regulators Thursday.

In 2008, Douglas A. Berthiaume received a 5 percent boost in salary to $735,000 while his performance bonus also rose 5 percent to just under $1.5 million. Other compensation jumped 82 percent to $129,432, mainly on the company's contribution to his retirement plan.

Berthiaume declined to be considered for stock option grants in 2008, as he did in 2007 and 2006.

The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.