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Hilmar Rode became the CEO of Nyrstar NV (EBR:NYR) in 2016. 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. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Nyrstar

How Does Hilmar Rode's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Nyrstar NV has a market cap of €22m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of €1.5m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). We note that's an increase of 34% above last year. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at €893k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under €178m, and the median CEO total compensation was €341k.

Thus we can conclude that Hilmar Rode receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Nyrstar NV. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Nyrstar, below.

Is Nyrstar NV Growing?

On average over the last three years, Nyrstar NV has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 24% each year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 8.0%.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Nyrstar NV Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 98%, Nyrstar NV would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Nyrstar NV, 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 the other hand returns to investors over the same period have probably disappointed many. This doesn't look great when you consider CEO remuneration is up on last year. Considering the per share profit growth, but keeping in mind the weak returns, we'd need more time to form a view on CEO compensation. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Nyrstar.

Important note: Nyrstar may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.