Should You Be Pleased About The CEO Pay At Nicox S.A.'s (EPA:COX)

Michele Garufi is the CEO of Nicox S.A. (EPA:COX). This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

View our latest analysis for Nicox

How Does Michele Garufi's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Nicox S.A. has a market capitalization of €170m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth €1.6m over the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at €350k. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from €90m to €361m, and the median CEO total compensation was €369k.

It would therefore appear that Nicox S.A. pays Michele Garufi 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. 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 Nicox, below.

Is Nicox S.A. Growing?

Nicox S.A. has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 15% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 258% 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 Nicox S.A. Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 41% over three years, some Nicox S.A. shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at Nicox S.A. with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. Having said that, shareholders may be disappointed with the weak returns over the last three years. While EPS is positive, we'd say shareholders would want better returns before the CEO is paid much more. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Nicox.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Nicox, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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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