Share-based compensation to employees and the Board of Directors
Share-based compensation is related to remuneration to employees, including key management personnel and the Board of Directors and could be settled either in shares or cash.
Under IFRS, a company shall recognize compensation costs for share-based compensation programs based on a measure of the value to the company of services received under the plans. The conditions under a program shall be considered as prescribed in IFRS 2.
The share-based programs are as of 2017 both share – and cash settled but as from 2017 granted plans are, except for plans for the Executive team, cash settled.
Share settled plans
Compensation costs are recognized during the vesting period, based on the fair value of the Ericsson share at the grant date, as well as considering performance – and market conditions. Examples of performance conditions could be revenue and profit targets while market conditions relates to the development of the Parent Company´s share price.
The amount charged to the income statement for these plans is reversed in equity each time of the income statement charge. The reason for this IFRS accounting principle is that compensation cost for a share settled program is a cost with no direct cash flow impact. All plans have service conditions and some of them have performance or market conditions. For further detailed information, see Note C28, “Information regarding members of the Board of Directors, the Group management and employees.”
Cash settled plans
The total compensation expense for a cash settled plan is equal to the payments made to the employees at the date of end of the service period. The fair value of the synthetic shares, being the cash equivalents of shares, is therefore reassessed and amended during the service period. Otherwise the accounting is similar to a share settled plan.
For further detailed information, see Note C28, “Information regarding members of the Board of Directors, the Group management and employees.”
Compensation to the Board of Directors
During 2008, the Parent Company introduced a share-based compensation program as a part of the remuneration to the Board of Directors (a synthetic share program). The program gives non-employee Directors elected by the General Meeting of shareholders a right to receive part of their remuneration as a future payment of an amount which corresponds to the market value of a share of class B in the Parent Company at the time of payment, as further disclosed in Note C28, “Information regarding members of the Board of Directors, the Group management and employees.” The cost for cash settlements is measured and recognized based on the estimated costs for the program on a pro rata basis during the service period, being one year. The estimated costs are remeasured during and at the end of the service period.