How Should Investors React To Finatis Société Anonyme's (EPA:FNTS) CEO Pay?
Didier Lévêque is the CEO of Finatis Société Anonyme (EPA:FNTS). 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 method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
See our latest analysis for Finatis Société Anonyme
How Does Didier Lévêque's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing our data says that Finatis Société Anonyme has a market cap of €167m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of €51k. (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 €15k. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of €90m to €362m. The median total CEO compensation was €333k.
This would give shareholders a good impression of the company, since most similar size companies have to pay more, leaving less for shareholders. While this is a good thing, you'll need to understand the business better before you can form an opinion.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Finatis Société Anonyme has changed from year to year.
Is Finatis Société Anonyme Growing?
Finatis Société Anonyme has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 28% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue changed by just -0.5%.
Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings per share are lower over three years. And the flat revenue hardly impresses. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. 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 Finatis Société Anonyme Been A Good Investment?
Given the total loss of 29% over three years, many shareholders in Finatis Société Anonyme are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.
In Summary...
Finatis Société Anonyme is currently paying its CEO below what is normal for companies of its size.
The compensation paid to Didier Lévêque is lower than is usual at similar sized companies, but the eps growth is lacking, just like the returns (over three years). Considering all these factors, we'd stop short of saying the CEO pay is too high, but we don't think shareholders would want to see a pay rise before business performance improves. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Finatis Société Anonyme shares (free trial).
If you want to buy a stock that is better than Finatis Société Anonyme, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
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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.
