Sir Andrew Witty, the boss of Britain’s biggest drugmaker, saw his total remuneration drop by almost half last year, as declining company sales in Europe affected his performance-based pay. The chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline saw his total pay packet cut from £6.8m in 2011 to £3.9m last year, the company said in its annual report published yesterday. Of the total pay packet, £1.03m was his base salary, up 3pc from the previous year. A further £49,000 was paid out as “other benefits”, such as healthcare, a company car or personal financial advice. But his pay based on performance – accounting for 72pc of his overall remuneration in 2012 – suffered significantly due largely to sales falling in the austerity-hit eurozone. Of his total pay, Sir Andrew’s annual bonus was £905,000, down from £2m in 2011. He also earned a further £125,000 as part of a deferred bonus plan. His performance share plan fell by more than half to £1.78m.
