Earnings
GDF Suez Executive Defends Profit Distribution
THURY-SOUS-CLERMONT, France (AP) — GDF Suez deputy chief executive Jean-Francois Cirelli Friday defended the manner in which the French electricity and natural gas utility shares out its profits, after his 180-percent salary increase re-ignited the debate over executive compensation in France.
Cirelli's salary soared to euro1.3 million last year from euro460,000 in 2007, following the merger of Gaz de France with Suez. Cirelli had been chief executive of state-controlled GDF and became deputy CEO of the much larger GDF Suez following the merger. The French government remains the group's largest shareholder with 35.7 percent. "If you look at how the value created by the company is divided, you'll see that in the 2008 earnings, 11 billion went to employees, 11 billion went for investment and 5 billion went to shareholders," Cirelli told reporters at a company seminar. "It seems to me that GDF Suez's division of the value created by company is very reasonable," Cirelli said. Asked whether the debate over his raise was justified, Cirelli said "Everyone can have an opinion, I don't want to get into it."TheStreet Premium Services
Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS:
Trade right alongside a Wall Street pro — enjoy access to his Charitable Trust portfolio and be sent trade alerts BEFORE he makes a move. Learn MoreOptionsProfits:
Get 50+ trade ideas a week from the industry's top options experts. Plus — exclusive commentary on market trends and essential trading tools. Learn MoreReal Money:
Our team of professional Wall Street Pros — including Jim Cramer, Doug Kass, and Nicholas Vardy — delivers intelligent analysis, timely trade ideas, and colorful commentary. Learn MoreStocks Under $10:
Break into the market with small- and mid-cap stocks... all $10 or less! David Peltier tells you exactly which low-priced stocks he's buying and selling. Learn MoreTo begin commenting right away, you can log in below using your Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, OpenID or Yahoo login credentials. Alternatively, you can post a comment as a "guest" just by entering an email address. Your use of the commenting tool is subject to multiple terms of service/use and privacy policies - see here for more details.
blog comments powered by Disqus
| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,393.45 | 1,310.33 | 2,827.34 | 15.81 |
Oil *
101.78
|
|
DOWN
26.41 |
DOWN
2.99 |
DOWN
10.02 |
DOWN
0.44 |
10 Yr
1.58%
SPDR Gold
151.62
|
|
-0.21%
|
-0.23%
|
-0.35%
|
-2.71%
|
Data delayed 20 minutes |


Connect with TheStreet