How Should Investors React To Helvetia Holding AG's (VTX:HELN) CEO Pay?
Philipp Gmür has been the CEO of Helvetia Holding AG (VTX:HELN) since 2016. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. 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 Helvetia Holding
How Does Philipp Gmür's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that Helvetia Holding AG has a market cap of CHF6.8b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of CHF2.2m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at CHF1.1m. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from CHF4.0b to CHF12b, we found the median CEO total compensation was CHF2.0m.
So Philipp Gmür receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Helvetia Holding, below.
Is Helvetia Holding AG Growing?
Over the last three years Helvetia Holding AG has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 11% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue changed by just 0.8%.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. 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 Helvetia Holding AG Been A Good Investment?
Boasting a total shareholder return of 52% over three years, Helvetia Holding AG has done well by shareholders. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.
In Summary...
Philipp Gmür is paid around what is normal the leaders of comparable size companies.
The company is growing earnings per share and total shareholder returns have been pleasing. Indeed, many might consider the pay rather modest, given the solid company performance! So you may want to check if insiders are buying Helvetia Holding shares with their own money (free access).
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.
