ADM CEO's 2024 compensation dips amid accounting issues, job cuts

By Karl Plume

CHICAGO (Reuters) -Archer-Daniels-Midland Co CEO Juan Luciano earned $21.6 million in 2024, down from $24.4 million the prior year, a securities filing on Tuesday showed, as the U.S. grains trader faced accounting problems and cost pressures that triggered layoffs and sent its shares plummeting.

The Chicago-based company was forced to revise six years of financial statements early last year and further restate some earnings later in the year after an internal investigation into its financial reports.

The accounting woes also cost former Chief Financial Officer Vikram Luthar his job and triggered two federal investigations.Luciano's 2024 compensation included a slight increase in base salary to $1.493 million and company stock awards valued at $17.7 million, according to ADM's annual proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The top executive's annual incentive plan award fell to $1.2 million, down from $3.6 million the prior year and about 40% of his 2024 target of nearly $3 million, as company earnings and returns on investment fell below preset goals.

ADM in February posted its lowest fourth-quarter adjusted profit in six years and warned of a tough 2025 due to slumping margins and U.S. biofuel policy uncertainty. The company also began layoffs in a broader cost-cutting push to save $500 million to $700 million over the next three to five years.

Reuters exclusively reported that ADM began a fresh wave of job cuts this week targeting its agricultural services and oilseeds division, the company's largest unit.

ADM shares are down 32% since news of the accounting issues broke in January 2024, sending its market cap plunging to around $22 billion from nearly $37 billion previously, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Richard Chang)