SAN FRANCISCO: Apple chief Tim Cook saw his annual pay slip to US$11.6mil in 2019 after the company registered a weaker financial performance compared with the previous year, according to documents filed Jan 3.

Cook, who took home US$15.7mil in 2018, is paid a base salary of US$3mil , in addition to a bonus and various compensations.

His 2019 incentive bonus, which is tied to Apple's performance, tallied about US$7.7mil , and was calculated based on the fact that Apple exceeded its sales target by only 28%.

That compared with US$12mil in 2018, based on the company exceeding its sales target by 100%, the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Cook's 2019 pay was also reported to include another US$885,000 worth of benefits, most of which were for security and use of a private jet.

"For security and efficiency reasons, the board requires Mr Cook to use private aircraft for all business and personal travel," the filing said.

Apart from his salary, Cook also saw more than US$113mil worth of Apple shares become vested as part of his long-term compensation as head of the firm, according to the filing.

As iPhone sales have weakened, Apple has been shifting to earnings from digital content and services sold to the legions of fans of its devices.

Apple reported net sales of US$260.2bil and operating income of US$63.9bil for 2019, it said in the filing.

 - AFP