Does SSR Mining Inc.'s (TSE:SSRM) CEO Pay Compare Well With Peers?
Paul Benson has been the CEO of SSR Mining Inc. (TSE:SSRM) since 2015. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
View our latest analysis for SSR Mining
How Does Paul Benson's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that SSR Mining Inc. has a market cap of CA$3.0b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$2.1m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$525k. We note that more than half of the total compensation is not the salary; and performance requirements may apply to this non-salary portion. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from US$1.0b to US$3.2b, we found the median CEO total compensation was US$2.2m.
That means Paul Benson receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a company that size. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at SSR Mining has changed from year to year.
Is SSR Mining Inc. Growing?
On average over the last three years, SSR Mining Inc. has shrunk earnings per share by 32% each year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 25%.
Investors should note that, over three years, earnings per share are down. But on the other hand, revenue growth is strong, suggesting a brighter future. These two metric are moving in different directions, so while it's hard to be confident judging performance, we think the stock is worth watching. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has SSR Mining Inc. Been A Good Investment?
I think that the total shareholder return of 80%, over three years, would leave most SSR Mining Inc. shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary...
Paul Benson is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.
The company isn't showing particularly great growth, but shareholder returns have been pleasing. So we can conclude that on this analysis the CEO compensation seems pretty sound. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling SSR Mining (free visualization of insider trades).
If you want to buy a stock that is better than SSR Mining, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
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.
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