Why UNIQA Insurance Group AG's (VIE:UQA) CEO Pay Matters To You

In 2011 Andreas Brandstetter was appointed CEO of UNIQA Insurance Group AG (VIE:UQA). This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. 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.

See our latest analysis for UNIQA Insurance Group

Want to help shape the future of investing tools and platforms? Take the survey and be part of one of the most advanced studies of stock market investors to date.

How Does Andreas Brandstetter's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, UNIQA Insurance Group AG has a market capitalization of €2.5b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth €1.3m. (This figure is for the year to 2017). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at €672k. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from €1.7b to €5.6b, we found the median CEO compensation was €2.3m.

A first glance this seems like a real positive for shareholders, since Andreas Brandstetter is paid less than the average compensation paid by similar sized companies. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance. So this freereport on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at UNIQA Insurance Group has changed from year to year.

Is UNIQA Insurance Group AG Growing?

Over the last three years UNIQA Insurance Group AG has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 13% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 2.2% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings per share are lower over three years. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the earnings per share is down. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO.

Has UNIQA Insurance Group AG Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 64% over three years, UNIQA Insurance Group AG has done well by shareholders. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

It appears that UNIQA Insurance Group AG remunerates its CEO below most similar sized companies.

Andreas Brandstetter is paid less than CEOs of similar size companies. While the company isn't growing on our analysis, shareholder returns have been good in recent years. We would like to see EPS growth, but in our view it seems the CEO is remunerated reasonably. So you may want to check if insiders are buying UNIQA Insurance Group shares with their own money (free access).

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this freelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.