Matt Sassone has been the CEO of LiDCO Group Plc (LON:LID) 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 LiDCO Group

How Does Matt Sassone's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, LiDCO Group Plc has a market capitalization of UK£20m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK£262k over the year to January 2019. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK£209k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under UK£161m, and the median CEO total compensation was UK£272k.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of LiDCO Group. On a sector level, around 68% of total compensation represents salary and 32% is other remuneration. So it seems like there isn't a significant difference between LiDCO Group and the broader market, in terms of salary allocation in the overall compensation package.

That means Matt Sassone 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 LiDCO Group has changed from year to year.

Is LiDCO Group Plc Growing?

Over the last three years LiDCO Group Plc has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 64% per year (measured with a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop 9.7% over the last year.

Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. This is compounded by the fact revenue is actually down on last year. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has LiDCO Group Plc Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 12% over three years, LiDCO Group Plc shareholders would, in general, 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...

Matt Sassone is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

We feel that earnings per share have been a bit disappointing, but and we don't think the total returns are amazing. We're not saying the CEO pay is too generous, but one might argue that the company should improve returns to shareholders before increasing it. On another note, we've spotted 3 warning signs for LiDCO Group that investors should look into moving forward.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than LiDCO Group, 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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