Is Polaris Media ASA (OB:POL) Overpaying Its CEO?
Per Koch became the CEO of Polaris Media ASA (OB:POL) in 2008. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. 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.
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How Does Per Koch’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing our data says that Polaris Media ASA has a market cap of øre1.3b, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of øre4.3m. (This number is for the twelve months until 2017). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at øre2.9m. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from øre854m to øre3.4b, and the median CEO compensation was øre3.7m.
That means Per Koch receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a company that size. Although this fact alone doesn’t tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Polaris Media, below.
Is Polaris Media ASA Growing?
Polaris Media ASA has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 78% a year, over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 1.1%.
Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings per share are lower over three years. And the modest revenue growth over 12 months isn’t much comfort against the reduced earnings per share. It’s hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration.
Although we don’t have analyst forecasts, you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Polaris Media ASA Been A Good Investment?
Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Polaris Media ASA for providing a total return of 52% over three years. 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…
Per Koch is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.
We feel that earnings per share have been a bit disappointing, but it’s nice to see positive shareholder returns over the last three years. So we think most shareholders wouldn’t be too worried about CEO compensation, which is close to the median for similar sized companies. Shareholders may want to check for free if Polaris Media insiders are buying or selling shares.
Of course, the past can be informative so you might be interested in considering this analytical visualization showing the company history of earnings and revenue.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
