Apple CEO Tim Cook earned nearly US$16 million in 2018

It was the second year running that the 58-year-old successor to the late Steve Jobs got a major pay raise AFP/NOAH BERGER

The figure comprised a base salary of US$3 million, a US$12 million bonus and US$680,000 in what it called "other compensation" that includes private air travel and security expenses.

Apple's compensation committee cited the company's strong sales performance over the year in justifying the bonus.

"For 2018 ... we achieved net sales of US$265.6 billion and operating income of US$70.9 billion, each representing a year-over-year increase of 16 per cent, and exceeding the 2018 maximum annual cash incentive program goals for both of those performance measures," the document said.

"The Compensation Committee determined that no downward adjustments to the payouts would be made based on Apple's 2018 performance and the individual contributions of our named executive officers and approved the maximum total payout at 400 per cent of annual base salary."

It was the second year running that the 58-year-old successor to the late Steve Jobs got a major pay raise. In 2017 he received US$12.8 million while in 2016 he made US$8.7 million.

The news came a week after Apple cut its revenue outlook for the latest quarter, citing steeper-than-expected "economic deceleration" in China and emerging markets.

READ: Apple cuts current-quarter production plan for new iPhones by 10%: Nikkei The disclosure rattled investors, some of whom viewed the weakened forecast as a sign the company lacks a major new gadget after the iPhone, a device that critics say has been priced too high.

Shares of Apple sank 10 per cent in the first session after the announcement, its worst day since 2013, contributing to a big pullback in the tech giant's stock market performance over the last three months.

Long the biggest company by market capitalisation, Apple is now fourth behind Amazon, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet.