Company: HLX
Filing Date: 2025-04-02
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001140361-25-011655
Chunk: 42

Company: HELIX ENERGY SOLUTIONS GROUP INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-02
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 42
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 beginning January 1, 2020 and ending December 31, 2024. |

| Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. |     | 2025 Proxy Statement |     | 43 |

TABLE OF CONTENTS Compensation Discussion and Analysis As the CEO Compensation Chart illustrates, the realized compensation of our CEO from 2020 through 2024 has largely tracked the performance of the Company, with his realized compensation lower in 2020-2022, followed by increases in subsequent years. At his own recommendation in response to negative changes in the market environment and unrelated to any performance issues, in 2021 the Compensation Committee agreed to significantly reduce our CEO’s target compensation, by reducing his 2021 long-term incentive award to $1.1 million (from $3.6 million the previous year). In 2022, following outlook stabilization and in a return to market practices, his long-term incentive award was restored to the prior $3.6 million level, where it has held flat since. These changes are reflected in his realized compensation in subsequent years as such long-term incentive award vested. Our CEO’s realized compensation significantly increased in 2024 compared to 2023, driven primarily by the payout of the three-year cliff-vesting PSUs granted in January 2022. The realized value of such PSUs reflects (1) the payout of such PSUs at a 200% performance factor as a result of our TSR ranking 3rd out of the 19 2022 PSU peer group companies, reflecting a 195% return for shareholders, and (2) our generation of significant cumulative Free Cash Flow relative to goals established by the Compensation Committee, in each case over the three-year performance period. The relative TSR performance is depicted in the “Total Shareholder Return 2022-2024” chart on page 36above. The value of our CEO’s RSU awards also increased in line with the Company’s improving share price over such period, although he realized only 76.2% of his 2024 target STI notwithstanding that the Company outperformed the Board-approved budget for the year. At-Risk Compensation The following charts show the elements of 2024 executive compensation, including target level STI opportunity and long-term incentives at grant date value. For our CEO, 86% of target total compensation was based on the performance of at-risk pay elements, while an average of 79% of target total compensation was based on at-risk pay elements for other NEOs.

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