LONDON, Feb 25 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- Swedish-British pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant AstraZeneca revealed that CEO Pascal Soriot received £17.7 million ($23.9 million) in pay and bonuses in 2025, with his total package potentially increasing to nearly £20 million (US$27 million) this year, reported PA Media/dpa.
The drug maker’s annual report showed its chief executive’s total pay lifted by more than six per cent from £16.6 million (US$22.4 million) in 2024 after he was awarded annual bonuses of £4.3 million (US$5.8 million) and long-term shares worth £11.6 million (US$15.6 million) in 2025.
The move follows a 40 per cent surge in the company’s full-year earnings, with its shares having climbed sharply over the past 12 months.
The report showed that Soriot could receive another significant pay rise in 2026, with a maximum possible package of £19.6 million (US$26.4 million) if he meets all his targets.
This would include a £4.3 million (US$5.8 million) annual bonus, a £2.1 million (US$2.8 million) share grant and up to £11.6 million (US$15.6 million) in long-term share awards, in addition to his £1.6 million (US$2.1 million) salary.
Earlier this month, the FTSE 100 firm reported pre-tax profits of US$12.4 billion for 2025, up from US$8.69 billion in 2024, boosted by a 49 per cent jump in the fourth quarter.
It also expects further growth in earnings over the year ahead as it continues to put faith in strong demand for its cancer treatments.
The Anglo-Swedish group is also pushing further into the United States (US) and China and investing in increasingly popular weight-loss medication.
But it has pulled back on its investment in the United Kingdom (UK), last year cancelling a planned £450 million (US$607 million) expansion of its vaccine facility in Speke, near Liverpool.
It also ditched plans for a £200 million (US$270 million) investment into research at its Cambridge headquarters.
Soriot has been consistently named the UK’s highest-paid CEO of an FTSE 100 firm in the past years.
Last year, he was paid 176 times the average pay for a worker at AstraZeneca, the annual report showed.
--BERNAMA-PA Media/dpa
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