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The processing facility at the Suncor tar sands operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, is seen in a file photo taken September 17, 2014.TODD KOROL/Reuters

Three Canadian energy companies of varying sizes; three very different stock market performances in 2014. And three very different pay packets for the men at the top of the food chain.

Steve Williams, CEO of Suncor Energy Ltd. (market cap $53-billion), made $12.4-million last year, which was down by a smidge compared with the $12.8-million he made in 2013. The hit came mainly because his yearly bonus of around $2-million fell by about $400,000. We could split hairs but Mr. Williams' compensation appears to be in line with the share performance of Suncor, which was flat in 2014.

Brian Ferguson, the CEO of Cenovus, (market cap $15.6-billion) took a 9-per-cent hit in his compensation last year, making $8.4-million versus $9.2-million in 2013. Like Mr. Williams, the sting for Mr. Ferguson came in the form of a reduction in his bonus by about $700-thousand. Shares in Cenovus meantime lost 20 per cent of their value in 2014. If Mr. Ferguson was paid purely based on the share performance of Cenovus, he would have been paid only around $7.4-million last year.

Shares in Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (market cap $4.8-billion) got creamed in 2014, losing 50 per cent of their value. Newly appointed chief executive Ryan Kubik made $2.9-million last year, which was 43 per cent lower than the $5.1-million that his predecessor, Marcel Coutu, made in 2013. At first glance, Mr. Kubik's pay appears to be at the appropriate level and consistent with the dismal share performance of Canadian Oil Sands. But there is one important caveat. As part of his retirement package Mr. Coutu received a one-time cash payment of $1.25-million that drastically bumped up his final pay packet from approximately $3.9-million. While Mr. Kubik's 2014 pay was more than 20 per cent below that, shareholders in his company still took a much bigger hit percentage-wise.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Suncor CEO Steve Williams would have earned $7.4-million last year based solely on the share performance of Suncor. In fact, Brian Ferguson, CEO of Cenovus, would have earned $7.4-million.

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 4:00pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
CVE-N
Cenovus Energy Inc
+0.76%19.99
CVE-T
Cenovus Energy Inc
+0.56%27.08
SU-N
Suncor Energy Inc
+1.18%36.91
SU-T
Suncor Energy Inc
+0.99%49.99

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