Neil Stothard is the CEO of Vp plc (LON:VP.). This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

View our latest analysis for Vp

How Does Neil Stothard's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Vp plc has a market cap of UK£302m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of UK£1.3m. (This figure is for the year to March 2019). We note that's an increase of 21% above last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at UK£359k. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of UK£163m to UK£653m. The median total CEO compensation was UK£713k.

As you can see, Neil Stothard is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Vp plc is paying too much. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.

The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Vp has changed from year to year.

Is Vp plc Growing?

On average over the last three years, Vp plc has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 4.6% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 26% over the last year.

It's hard to interpret the strong revenue growth as anything other than a positive. Combined with modest EPS growth, we get a good impression of the company. I wouldn't say this is necessarily top notch growth, but it is certainly promising. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Vp plc Been A Good Investment?

Vp plc has generated a total shareholder return of 16% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.

In Summary...

We examined the amount Vp 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.

One might like to have seen stronger growth, and the shareholder returns have failed to inspire, over the last three years. Considering this, we wouldn't want to see any big pay rises, although we'd stop short of calling the CEO compensation unfair. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Vp 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.

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.