Microsoft CEO Ballmer's salary up 4 per cent in '09

REDMOND,WASHINGTON: Microsoft Corp says it raised CEO Steve Ballmer's salary by 4 per cent in fiscal 2009 as the software maker's profit plunged 17 per cent on weak personal computer sales.

Ballmer's salary rose to $665,883 from $640,833, according to a preliminary filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The CEO's bonus was $700,000 last year. Microsoft didn't disclose Ballmer's bonus for fiscal 2009.

In an uncommon move, the company's board proposed a ``say-on-pay'' measure that would give shareholders a chance to weigh in every three years on executive compensation.

Microsoft's 2009 earnings fell to $14.6 billion from $17.7 billion in 2008. Sales dropped 3 per cent to $58.4 billion, the first time its revenue declined since it went public in 1986.