The Committee determines base salary by considering:
▪ | Growth in our sales, income and Cash Flow |
▪ | Our business’s complexity |
▪ | The benchmark analyses previously discussed |
▪ | The need to offer a fair and competitive base salary versus other income opportunities which executives might have |
▪ | We also consider the fact that there are other elements in compensation which the Company does not offer to our executives and the compensation elements we do offer which are discussed below (e.g., bonus and retirement/long-term compensation amounts) |
At each fiscal year’s outset, our executive officers present to the Board of Directors a financial goal or budget for the year. The Committee believes that Mr. Laurans Mendelson should receive a bonus equal to roughly 200% of his eligible compensation and that Messrs. Mendelson (Eric and Victor) and Mr. Macau should receive a bonus equal to roughly 120% of their eligible compensation if the Company meets a budgeted, meaningful growth goal. In 2022, the bonus required 10% growth in the following financial metrics (collectively referred to as the “Financial Metrics”) for fiscal year 2022 as compared to fiscal year 2021:
▪ | Net income attributable to HEICO |
▪ | Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)* |
▪ | Cash flow from operating activities (“Operating Cash Flow”) |
The Committee feels bonuses should be scaled to provide for partial payment if the minimum threshold is met, but the full target is not met, so the Company’s incentive compensation plans provide for this. We also believe that a larger bonus should only be paid if the full target is exceeded; the bonus arrangement provided for such a formula along with a cap on all bonus potential.
Our goal is to provide incentives to management to meet both short and long-term objectives, to be competitive with other income generating opportunities our executives might have and to treat them fairly at all times. We note that our executive officers requested that they receive no bonuses in periods where financial performance failed to meet budgeted goals, even if we grew significantly during the relevant period.
Before setting targets, the Committee also reviews benchmarks and other data provided by our compensation consultants. The Committee also considers the fact that numerous other management-level employees at HEICO are offered bonus opportunities equal to 100% or more of their eligible compensation if their operations meet certain targets and the Committee likes this approach's consistency.
Consistent with our prior practice, the Committee established minimum and maximum target bonus levels for four of the named executives for fiscal 2022. Our Net income attributable to HEICO, EBITDA and Operating Cash Flow targets (collectively referred to as the “Bonus Targets”) in fiscal year 2022 were $334,642,000, $536,098,000 and $488,492,000, respectively, a 10% increase over these Financial Metrics in fiscal year 2021. Recognizing that any increase in these Financial Metrics deserves recognition, but that lower than targeted results deserves less than the targeted bonus, the Committee reduces the bonus from target by 5.0% for every percent that these Financial Metrics were below the target. Conversely, if these Financial Metrics were greater than targeted, the executives’ bonuses could be increased by slightly less than half of the rate by which the bonuses decrease if these Financial Metrics were below the target, or 2.0%, for every percentage point increase in the actual Financial Metrics above the targeted amount. Please see our “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” table below for our threshold, target and maximum rewards levels under the HEICO Corporation 2018 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2018 Plan”).
Our actual Financial Metrics in fiscal year 2022 increased (decreased) by 5.1%, 10.8% and (4.2%), respectively, over Bonus Targets and were $351,675,000, $593,742,000 and $467,856,000, respectively. Accordingly, since our actual Financial Metrics exceeded our Bonus Targets, the non-equity incentive compensation amounts set forth in the compensation tables below were paid to the named executive officers. The targets were not changed during the year.
Additionally, during fiscal 2022, the Committee approved a cash incentive award for HEICO’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Laurans A. Mendelson, whereby he would receive a fixed amount of $775,000 cash should our Net income attributable to HEICO in