This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Jeff MacDonald who has served as CEO of EcoSynthetix Inc. (TSE:ECO) since 2015. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for EcoSynthetix.

View our latest analysis for EcoSynthetix

How Does Total Compensation For Jeff MacDonald Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that EcoSynthetix Inc. has a market capitalization of CA$135m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$716k for the year to December 2019. That's a notable increase of 12% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$302k.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations under CA$267m, the reported median total CEO compensation was US$387k. This suggests that Jeff MacDonald is paid more than the median for the industry. What's more, Jeff MacDonald holds CA$371k worth of shares in the company in their own name.

Talking in terms of the broader industry, salary and other compensation roughly make up 50% each, of the total compensation. In EcoSynthetix's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

A Look at EcoSynthetix Inc.'s Growth Numbers

EcoSynthetix Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 64% a year over the past three years. It saw its revenue drop 23% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's always a tough situation when revenues are not growing, but ultimately profits are more important. While we don't have analyst forecasts for the company, shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has EcoSynthetix Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Given the total shareholder loss of 13% over three years, many shareholders in EcoSynthetix Inc. are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

As we noted earlier, EcoSynthetix pays its CEO higher than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. However, the earnings per share growth is certainly impressive, but shareholder returns — over the same period — have been disappointing. Considering overall performance, we can't say Jeff is underpaid, in fact compensation is definitely on the higher side.

If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at EcoSynthetix.

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.

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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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