Is Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration (EBR:SPA) Excessively Paying Its CEO?

Marc du Bois is the CEO of Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration (EBR:SPA). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. 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. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

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Check out our latest analysis for Sociéte de Servicesde Participationsde Direction et d'Elaboration

How Does Marc du Bois's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration is worth €863m, and total annual CEO compensation is €849k. (This is based on the year to December 2017). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at €400k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from €358m to €1.4b, and the median CEO total compensation was €483k.

Thus we can conclude that Marc du Bois receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay 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 a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Sociéte de Servicesde Participationsde Direction et d'Elaboration, below.

ENXTBR:SPA CEO Compensation, May 21st 2019
ENXTBR:SPA CEO Compensation, May 21st 2019

Is Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration Growing?

On average over the last three years, Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 21% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 8.8% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 120%, over three years, would leave most Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration 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...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Sociéte de Services,de Participations,de Direction et d'Elaboration, and compared it to remuneration at a group of 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. On top of that, in the same period, returns to shareholders have been great. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Sociéte de Servicesde Participationsde Direction et d'Elaboration shares with their own money (free access).

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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. Thank you for reading.