WPP WPP PLC

By Ian Walker and Nick Kostov 

LONDON-- WPP PLC Chief Executive Martin Sorrell will receive a GBP70.4 million ($102.4 million) compensation package after he survived a shareholder revolt at the company's annual general meeting Wednesday.

Over a third of WPP investors that voted failed to back the company's pay report while 66.55% supported it.

The bulk of Mr. Sorrell's 2015 compensation came from a hefty long-term incentive stock award and represents a 65% increase on last year. Some shareholder advisory groups labelled the package as "excessive" and "unacceptable" ahead of the meeting.

John Hood, the head of WPP's compensation committee said in the company's annual report that "while the value of Sir Martin Sorrell's award is very large, it was the result of an outstanding set of returns to share owners." WPP's shares rose 16% in 2015.

Mr. Sorrell, who has led WPP for more than 30 years, draws far more compensation than the CEOs of rival companies. Omnicom Group Inc. CEO John Wren received $23.6 million in total compensation for 2015, while Interpublic CEO Michael Roth got $14.5 million. Publicis Groupe SA CEO Maurice Levy received EUR3.9 million ($4.43 million) last year, according to the company's annual report. Mr. Levy doesn't receive a base salary and his annual compensation is capped at EUR5 million.

This is not the first time that Mr. Sorrell's compensation package has come under fire from investors. Shareholders rejected Mr. Sorrell's pay package at the 2012 general meeting in a move that forced WPP to change its long-term bonus plan and reduce the maximum payouts for Mr. Sorrell.

The world's largest advertizing firm by sales said 2016 would be another demanding year as it reported a rise in revenue for the first four months of the year. Revenue rose 11% to GBP4.18 billion in the first four months compared with the same period last year, while comparable net sales rose 3.1% in sterling terms during the same period.

At the time of its first quarter trading update on April 29, WPP said it was in the process of reviewing its forecasts. It said back then that, based on early indications, it was ahead of targets to post like-for-like revenue growth of well over 3% and net sales growth of over 3%, with a stronger second half to come. No further information has been given.

WPP generated GBP12.2 billion in revenue last year. The company, which owns agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather and Grey, had net sales growth of 3.3% in 2015.

Nick Kostov and Nathalie Tadena contributed to this article

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com and Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 08, 2016 09:02 ET (13:02 GMT)

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