Marcus Wolfinger became the CEO of Stratec SE (ETR:SBS) in 2011. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. 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. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

View our latest analysis for Stratec

How Does Marcus Wolfinger's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Stratec SE has a market capitalization of €815m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth €1.1m over the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at €272k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from €369m to €1.5b, we found the median CEO total compensation was €1.2m.

That means Marcus Wolfinger 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.

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

Is Stratec SE Growing?

Stratec SE has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 14% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 11% over last year.

Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. There's no doubt that the silver lining is that revenue is up. But it isn't sufficiently fast growth to overlook the fact that earnings per share has gone backwards over three years. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Stratec SE Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 53%, over three years, would leave most Stratec SE shareholders smiling. 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...

Marcus Wolfinger is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

The company isn't growing earnings per share, but shareholder returns have been strong over the last three years. So we can't see a reason to suggest the pay is inappropriate. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Stratec shares (free trial).

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.

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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