Wal-Mart CEO's compensation rises to $22.4 million

Wal-Mart Stores Inc's chief executive officer received a 13 percent increase in total compensation to $22.4 million (17.49 million pounds) in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday, as sales growth at the world's largest retailer remained robust.

CEO Doug McMillon's compensation, which included cash and stock, compared with $19.8 million the previous year, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

McMillon took over the top job at Wal-Mart in February 2014.

In the recently ended fiscal year, Wal-Mart's operating income fell 5.6 percent to $22.8 billion, compared with an 11 percent drop a year earlier, and sales rose 0.8 percent to $485.9 billion. Excluding the impact of currency Wal-Mart said sales rose 3.1 percent to $496 billion.

The retailer's core U.S. operations have shown improvement, with sales at existing stores rising 1.3 percent in the last fiscal year, excluding fuel. The company has said investments in wages and training have led to better customer service at its more than 5,000 stores, including the Sam's Club warehouse chain.

Wal-Mart's effort to lower prices has attracted more customers, leading to a ninth consecutive quarter of customer traffic growth at its stores during the quarter ended Jan.31.

Greg Foran, head of the U.S. business, received total compensation of $11.55 million, a slight increase from $11.54 million a year ago.

U.S. e-commerce chief Marc Lore, who joined Wal-Mart in August from e-commerce startup Jet.com, received a payout of $243.9 million, including restricted stock units given when Wal-Mart acquired Jet. Excluding that, Lore earned $7.6 million.