43 Remuneration based on performance shares and phantom shares (share-based payment)
At the beginning of 2017, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG resolved to adjust the remuneration system of the Board of Management with effect from January 1, 2017. All members of the Board of Management voted in favor of switching to the new remuneration system in the course of fiscal year 2017. The new remuneration system of the Board of Management comprises non-performance-related and performance-related components. The performance-related remuneration consists of a performance-related annual bonus with a one-year assessment period and a long-term incentive (LTI) in the form of a performance share plan with a forward-looking three-year term (share-based payment). In addition, a bonus was converted into phantom preferred shares (phantom shares) in 2016.
PERFORMANCE SHARES
Each performance period of the performance share plan has a term of three years. At the time the LTI is granted, the annual target amount under the LTI is converted, on the basis of the initial reference price of Volkswagen’s preferred shares, into performance shares of Volkswagen AG, which are allocated to the respective member of the Board of Management as a pure calculation position. After the end of the three-year term of the performance share plan, a cash settlement shall take place. The payment amount corresponds to the number of determined performance shares, multiplied by the closing reference price at the end of the three-year period plus a dividend equivalent for the relevant term. The payment amount under the performance share plan shall be limited to 200% of the target amount. If 100% of the targets agreed in each case are achieved, the target amount is €1.8 million for each member of the Board of Management and €3.8 million for the Chairman of the Board of Management.
A total of 141,426 performance shares were allocated to the members of the Board of Management for 2017. The fair value of the obligation as of December 31, 2017 amounts to €43.8 million. The compensation cost of €43.8 million is recognized under personnel costs. If the members of the Board of Management had left the Company as of December 31, 2017, the obligation (intrinsic value) would have amounted to a total of €20.3 million.
PHANTOM SHARES
At its meeting on April 22, 2016, Volkswagen AG’s Supervisory Board accepted the offer made by the members of the Board of Management to withhold 30% of the variable remuneration for fiscal year 2015 for the Board of Management members active on the date of the resolution and to make its disposal subject to future share price performance by means of phantom shares. The amount withheld led to the creation of 50,703 phantom preferred shares. The fair value of the obligation to the members of the Board of Management as of December 31, 2017 amounted to €7.0 million. The change in the fair value of €2.0 million was recognized under personnel costs. If all members of the Board of Management had left as of December 31, 2017, the obligation (intrinsic value) would have amounted to a total of €7.3 million.
For further details on performance shares and phantom shares, please refer to our disclosures in the remuneration report, which is part of the Group management report.