Apple say on pay motion approved by shareholders

Apple Inc said a shareholder proposal for more say over executive pay was approved at its annual meeting on February 25.

The iPod, Mac and iPhone maker originally said it believed the resolution had failed. But it said on Monday that it had incorrectly counted abstentions as no votes.

An internal investigation found the mistake was due to human error, Apple said, adding the problem was discovered shortly after it filed its 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last Thursday.

According to Apple's amendment to its 10-Q on Monday, the so-called Say on Pay resolution, which asks the board to give shareholders an advisory vote on executive compensation, was approved by 51.63 percent of shares.

The Compensation Committee of Apple's Board of Directors has been closely following the Say on Pay issue and anticipates that new laws or regulations will require some form of Say on Pay vote at all public companies in the near future, Apple said. Even if that does not occur, Apple is committed to implementing an advisory Say on Pay vote next year.

Shares of Apple were quoted at $122.98 before the Nasdaq market open on Monday, down 0.7 percent from their Friday close of $123.90.

(Reporting by Tiffany Wu; editing by John Wallace)