How Is Wynnstay Properties' (LON:WSP) CEO Paid Relative To Peers?

This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Christopher Williams who has served as CEO of Wynnstay Properties Plc (LON:WSP) since 2006. This analysis will also assess whether Wynnstay Properties pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Wynnstay Properties

Comparing Wynnstay Properties Plc's CEO Compensation With the industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Wynnstay Properties Plc has a market capitalization of UK£16m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of UK£160k for the year to March 2020. That's a notable decrease of 13% on last year. In particular, the salary of UK£129.0k, makes up a huge portion of the total compensation being paid to the CEO.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations under UK£153m, the reported median total CEO compensation was UK£209k. So it looks like Wynnstay Properties compensates Christopher Williams in line with the median for the industry. What's more, Christopher Williams holds UK£70k worth of shares in the company in their own name.

On an industry level, around 53% of total compensation represents salary and 47% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Wynnstay Properties pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, compared to the industry. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

Wynnstay Properties Plc's Growth

Over the last three years, Wynnstay Properties Plc has shrunk its earnings per share by 65% per year. Its revenue is up 2.5% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings have declined. The modest increase in revenue in the last year isn't enough to make us overlook the disappointing change in earnings per share. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Wynnstay Properties Plc Been A Good Investment?

Wynnstay Properties Plc has generated a total shareholder return of 17% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

As previously discussed, Christopher is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. According to our analysis, Wynnstay Properties is suffering from uninspiring earnings growth, and even though shareholder returns are stable, they are hardly impressive. This doesn't compare well with CEO compensation, which is largely in line with the industry median. We wouldn't go as far as saying CEO compensation is inappropriate, but we don't think the executive is underpaid.

CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. That's why we did our research, and identified 7 warning signs for Wynnstay Properties (of which 2 are concerning!) that you should know about in order to have a holistic understanding of the stock.

Important note: Wynnstay Properties is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.