04/18/2008

By DAVID TWIDDY  / Associated Press

Julia Stewart, the chairwoman and chief executive officer of pancake house operator IHOP Corp., received compensation valued at $5.5 million in 2007 as she doubled the company's size with the purchase of the Applebee's casual dining chain, according to an analysis of regulatory filings.

In documents filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Glendale, Calif.-based company said it paid the 53-year-old Stewart $650,000 in salary and $1.5 million in bonuses and incentive payments. She also received $146,490 in other compensation, which included forgiveness of a loan and interest worth $108,381, $12,000 for a car allowance, payments to her 401(k) and insurance premiums and an undisclosed amount for airline club memberships.

The bulk of her compensation came in the form of stock and options, which the company valued at $3.15 million at the time they were granted.

The company also said it increased Stewart's annual salary to $850,000, effective Dec. 1, to reflect her larger responsibilities with the addition of Applebee's.

In 2006, Stewart was paid $630,625 in salary, $1.27 million in incentive payments and $155,547 in other compensation. The company changed how it reported option and stock values in its proxy in 2007, making it difficult to provide a direct comparison to 2006.

The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation, and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits and can differ from the figures listed in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC.

Besides her regular compensation, Stewart in 2007 also realized $4.67 million from exercising options and $552,676 from vesting of stock shares. These figures aren't included in Stewart's annual compensation as they reflect personal finance decisions.

IHOP bought Lenexa, Kan.-based Applebee's International Inc. for $1.9 billion in November. The combined chain now operates 1,353 IHOP locations and 1,986 Applebee's locations.

For the year, the company swung to a loss of $2.2 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with profit of $44.6 million, or $2.43 per share in the prior year. Much of the change came from numerous charges and expenses tied to the Applebee's acquisition.

Revenue grew 39 percent to $484.6 million from $349.6 million in 2006.

IHOP shares were up 67 cents to $51.60 in midday trading Friday.