Shareholders May Be More Conservative With Palfinger AG's (VIE:PAL) CEO Compensation For Now

Under the guidance of CEO Andreas Klauser, Palfinger AG (VIE:PAL) has performed reasonably well recently. This is something shareholders will keep in mind as they cast their votes on company resolutions such as executive remuneration in the upcoming AGM on 24 March 2022. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.

Check out our latest analysis for Palfinger

Comparing Palfinger AG's CEO Compensation With the industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Palfinger AG has a market capitalization of €994m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of €1.4m for the year to December 2021. We note that's an increase of 59% above last year. We note that the salary of €685.0k makes up a sizeable portion of the total compensation received by the CEO.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between €360m and €1.4b had a median total CEO compensation of €915k. This suggests that Andreas Klauser is paid more than the median for the industry.

Component	2021	2020	Proportion (2021)
Salary	€685k	€622k	51%
Other	€670k	€231k	49%
Total Compensation	€1.4m	€853k	100%

On an industry level, around 54% of total compensation represents salary and 46% is other remuneration. Although there is a difference in how total compensation is set, Palfinger more or less reflects the market in terms of setting the salary. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

Palfinger AG's Growth

Palfinger AG's earnings per share (EPS) grew 14% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 20%.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's a real positive to see this sort of revenue growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Palfinger AG Been A Good Investment?

Palfinger AG has generated a total shareholder return of 6.8% over three years, so most shareholders wouldn't be too disappointed. Although, there's always room to improve. In light of that, investors might probably want to see an improvement on their returns before they feel generous about increasing the CEO remuneration.

In Summary...

Given that the company's overall performance has been reasonable, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus in the upcoming AGM. However, any decision to raise CEO pay might be met with some objections from the shareholders given that the CEO is already paid higher than the industry average.

CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. We did our research and identified 3 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) in Palfinger we think you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.