Is Keyrus S.A.'s (EPA:KEY) CEO Paid At A Competitive Rate?
The CEO of Keyrus S.A. (EPA:KEY) is Eric Cohen. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
See our latest analysis for Keyrus
How Does Eric Cohen's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Keyrus S.A. has a market capitalization of €51m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth €634k over the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at €300k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below €180m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be €280k.
As you can see, Eric Cohen is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Keyrus S.A. is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Keyrus, below.
Is Keyrus S.A. Growing?
Over the last three years Keyrus S.A. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 2.0% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 6.8%.
I would argue that the improvement in revenue isn't particularly impressive, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. It's clear the performance has been quite decent, but it it falls short of outstanding,based on this information. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Keyrus S.A. Been A Good Investment?
Keyrus S.A. has generated a total shareholder return of 6.6% over three years, so most shareholders wouldn't be too disappointed. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.
In Summary...
We examined the amount Keyrus S.A. pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
We generally prefer to see stronger EPS growth, and we're not particularly impressed with the total shareholder return, over the last three years. In conclusion we think the company should definitely focus on improving the business before awarding any large pay rises. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Keyrus (free visualization of insider trades).
Important note: Keyrus may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
