C2. Remuneration of senior executives

AP Accounting principles

Incentive programs

Essity has variable remuneration programs: Short Term Incentive (STI) and Long Term Incentive (LTI). Variable remuneration is capped at a specific percentage of fixed salary and is recognized as an expense and current liability, respectively, during the earning period in accordance with IAS 19 Employee Benefits. The programs are continuously evaluated and reported in the annual accounts. Payment is made in cash the year following the vesting period.

Description of incentive programs

The structure of the STI targets is related to the financial targets, or goals that contribute to the achievement of financial targets, such as operating cash flow, cost efficiency, EBITA margin, organic sales growth and consolidated profit before tax, as well as innovation goals.

The LTI goal is based on the performance of the company’s B share, measured as the TSR (Total Shareholder Return) index compared with the MSCI Household Products Index, Consumer Staples, which contains a weighted index of competitors’ and consumer companies’ shares performance (TSR) over a three-year period, where the performance target is higher TSR for the company than the benchmark index (maximum outcome requires a 5% better outcome than the benchmark index).

Variable remuneration under LTI is paid in cash to employees and accordingly does not have any dilutive effect. Participants in the LTI program are to acquire shares in Essity for half of the LTI outcome paid after tax and to refrain from divesting these shares for a period of three years.

Annual General Meeting guidelines for remuneration of senior executives¹⁾

The 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) adopted the following guidelines for remuneration of senior executives. Remuneration of senior executives will be a fixed salary, variable remuneration, additional benefits and pension. The total remuneration is to correspond to market practice and be competitive in the senior executive’s field of profession and linked to the executive’s responsibility and authority. The variable remuneration is to be limited and linked to the fixed remuneration, based on performance results in relation to the annual and long-term established targets. In the event of termination of employment, the notice period should normally be up to two years if termination is initiated by the company, and up to one year, if initiated by the senior executive. Severance pay should not exist. Pension benefits should, to the extent possible, only contain defined contribution pension benefits and entitle the executive to receive a pension from the age of 65. Variable remuneration is not part of pensionable income. The board of directors shall be entitled to deviate from the adopted guidelines if, in an individual case, there are special reasons for doing so. The guidelines shall not prevail over mandatory conditions under labor law or collective agreements. Neither do they apply to existing agreements.

Company’s application of guidelines

The company applied the guidelines approved by the AGM in the following manner.

Fixed salary

The fixed salary is to be in proportion to the individual’s position and the authority and responsibilities this entails. It is set individually at a level that, combined with other remuneration, is assessed as a market rate and competitive in the labor market in which the executive works.

Variable remuneration

Variable remuneration of the CEO, Executive Vice President and Business Unit Presidents and equivalents is maximized to a total of 100% of the fixed salary. For two Business Unit Presidents, stationed in the Americas, the maximum outcome is 110–130%. The corresponding limit for other senior executives is 90%. The program for variable remuneration is divided into short-term and long-term portions. The short-term portion (“Short Term Incentive”, or STI) for the CEO, Executive Vice President and Business Unit Presidents and equivalents may amount to a maximum of 50% of fixed salary. For the Business Unit Presidents, stationed in the Americas, the maximum outcome is 60–80% of the fixed salary. The corresponding limit for other senior executives is 40%. The STI goals set for the Business Unit Presidents are mainly based on operating cash flow, capital efficiency, EBITA margin and organic sales growth for each business unit. The goal for the CEO and others reporting directly to him is based primarily on the Group’s profit, EBITA margin, operating cash flow and organic sales growth. Furthermore, for certain senior executives, goals for cost efficiency and innovation also apply, accounting for 20% of the variable remuneration. The long-term portion (“Long Term Incentive”, or LTI) may amount to a maximum of 50% of the fixed salary. The senior executive is to invest half of the variable LTI compensation, after tax withholdings, in Essity shares. The shares may then not be sold before the end of the third year after the purchase of shares in the relevant LTI program.

Outcome, variable remuneration

For the CEO, Executive Vice President and Central Staff Managers, STI resulted in 40–50% of fixed salary for 2019. STI resulted in variable remuneration corresponding to 29–72% of fixed salary for the Business Unit Presidents. The LTI target was achieved for 2017–2019, resulting in a maximum outcome for the CEO and other senior executives.

Other benefits

Other benefits pertain, in some cases, to a company car, commuter reimbursement and health insurance.

Pension

The CEO has a defined contribution pension based on an annual payment, to be paid by the company, amounting to 40% of the employee’s fixed salary, in addition to the agreed contribution for the basic pension benefits in the ITP plan (supplementary pensions for salaried employees), with retirement pension benefits limited to a maximum salary income of 7.5 income base amounts. The retirement age for the CEO is 65. Four other executives are covered by corresponding defined contribution pension benefits with an annual premium of approximately 30–40% and pension age of 65. Two senior executives in Sweden have a combined defined benefit and defined contribution plan. Five senior executives that are employed in companies outside Sweden are encompassed by defined contribution pension plans on local market-based terms.

Notice period and severance pay

The agreement with the CEO stipulates a period of notice of termination of two years if such notice is given by the company. The CEO has a corresponding right with a period of termination of one year. If notice is given by the company, the CEO is not obligated to serve during the notice period. The agreement has no stipulations with regard to severance pay. Between the company and other senior executives, a period of notice of termination of one to two years normally applies, if such notice is given by the company. The executive has a corresponding right with a period of notice of termination of six months to one year. The executive is normally expected to be available to the company during the notice period. The agreements have no stipulations with regard to severance pay.

Preparation and decision process for remuneration

During the year, the Remuneration Committee submitted recommendations to the Board regarding the principles for remuneration of senior executives. The recommendations encompassed the ratio between fixed and variable remuneration and the size of any salary increases. In addition, the Remuneration Committee expressed an opinion on the criteria for assessing variable remuneration and pension terms. The Board discussed the Remuneration Committee’s proposal and decided on the basis of the Committee’s recommendations. The remuneration of corporate management for the fiscal year was based on the Remuneration Committee’s recommendation and, with regard to the CEO, decided by the Board. The executives concerned did not participate in remuneration matters pertaining to themselves. When it was deemed appropriate, the work of the Remuneration Committee was carried out with the support of external expertise.

The Board’s proposal for new guidelines

The Board proposes that the 2020 Annual General Meeting adopt new guidelines for remuneration of senior executives, that can be found in chapter Other Group information. With the salary situation prevailing in 2020 with 12 senior executives, the maximum outcome of variable remuneration would entail a cost for the Group, excluding social security costs, of approximately SEK 76m.

Obligations in relation to former presidents and CEOs

For former presidents and CEOs, Essity has outstanding, non-funded obligations amounting to SEK 197m. These costs were recognized in previous years and comprise pension obligations that Essity assumed from Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget in conjunction with the split of the Group.