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George Dethlefsen became the CEO of Corsa Coal Corp. (CVE:CSO) in 2014. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

Check out our latest analysis for Corsa Coal

How Does George Dethlefsen's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Corsa Coal Corp. has a market capitalization of CA$62m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$668k. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$400k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below US$200m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is US$92k.

Thus we can conclude that George Dethlefsen receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Corsa Coal Corp.. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Corsa Coal has changed over time.

Is Corsa Coal Corp. Growing?

Corsa Coal Corp. has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 111% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop -1.2% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has Corsa Coal Corp. Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 59%, Corsa Coal Corp. would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

We examined the amount Corsa Coal Corp. pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. However, the returns to investors are far less impressive, over the same period. Considering the per share profit growth, but keeping in mind the weak returns, we'd need more time to form a view on CEO compensation. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Corsa Coal (free visualization of insider trades).

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.