Coke Chairman Goizueta Has a Million Options

ATLANTA —  Coca-Cola Co. awarded Chairman and Chief Executive Roberto Goizueta 1 million stock options currently valued at $22.8 million and boosted his pay by 10% last year.

According to the beverage company’s proxy statement, the options can be exercised at $57.5625 a share at any time during the next 10 years. The value of the options is based on the company’s closing price Friday of $80.50 a share, down 75 cents.

The options are the first awarded to Goizueta since it granted him $63.5 million in salary, bonus and restricted stock in 1991--eliciting howls of protest from shareholders.

The new options could have a value of between $93.8 million and $149.1 million if Coke’s shares rise 5% to 10% during the next decade, the company said in the proxy.

The Atlanta-based company defended the options as fair compensation to Goizueta for guiding Coca-Cola to record revenue and profit and market share gains in a sluggish year for the beverage industry, according to the proxy released Friday.

His salary and bonus rose to $4.8 million last year from $4.4 million in 1994.

Goizueta also holds 5.6 million shares of restricted stock, currently valued at $450 million, according to the proxy.

Last year, Coke’s net income rose 17% to $2.99 billion, or $2.37 a share, from $2.55 billion, or $1.98, the year before. Revenue climbed 11%, to $18.02 billion from $16.18 billion.

Coke said its stock posted a total return of 46% for its holders in 1995.