In 2010 Austin Avuru was appointed CEO of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc (LON:SEPL). This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we’ll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

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How Does Austin Avuru’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has a market cap of UK£662m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$3.0m. (This is based on the year to 2016). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.1m. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from US$400m to US$1.6b, we found the median CEO compensation was US$1.3m.

It would therefore appear that Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc pays Austin Avuru more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn’t mean the remuneration is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Seplat Petroleum Development has changed over time.

Is Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc Growing?

Over the last three years Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 69% per year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 132% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. Most shareholders would be pleased to see strong revenue growth combined with EPS growth. This combo suggests a fast growing business.

Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. .

Has Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc for providing a total return of 143% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

In Summary…

We examined the amount Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. In addition, shareholders have done well over the same time period. Considering this fine result for shareholders, we daresay the CEO compensation might be apt. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Seplat Petroleum Development.

Or you could feast your eyes on this interactive graph depicting past earnings, cash flow 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.