Does S&U plc's (LON:SUS) CEO Salary Compare Well With Others?

Anthony Michael Coombs became the CEO of S&U plc (LON:SUS) in 1999. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. 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 method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

Check out our latest analysis for S&U

How Does Anthony Michael Coombs's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that S&U plc has a market cap of UK£203m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of UK£412k for the year to January 2019. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK£340k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from UK£81m to UK£322m, and the median CEO total compensation was UK£607k.

Now let's take a look at the pay mix on an industry and company level to gain a better understanding of where S&U stands. Talking in terms of the sector, salary represented approximately 53% of total compensation out of all the companies we analysed, while other remuneration made up 47% of the pie. S&U is paying a higher share of its remuneration through a salary in comparison to the overall industry.

At first glance this seems like a real positive for shareholders, since Anthony Michael Coombs is paid less than the average total compensation paid by similar sized companies. While this is a good thing, you'll need to understand the business better before you can form an opinion. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at S&U has changed over time.

Is S&U plc Growing?

On average over the last three years, S&U plc has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a favourable direction by 11% each year (using a line of best fit). Revenue was pretty flat on last year.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's nice to see a little revenue growth, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has S&U plc Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 7.2%, S&U plc would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

It looks like S&U plc pays its CEO less than similar sized companies.

Since the business is growing, many would argue this suggests the pay is modest. Unfortunately, some shareholders may be disappointed with their returns, given the company's performance over the last three years. So while we would not say that Anthony Michael Coombs is generously paid, it would be good to see an improvement in business performance before too an increase in pay. This sort of circumstance certainly justifies further research, because the investment returns might still come in the future. CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also identified 2 warning signs for S&U (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Important note: S&U 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.

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.

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