Should You Worry About Dacian Gold Limited's (ASX:DCN) CEO Pay Cheque?

Rohan Williams is the CEO of Dacian Gold Limited (ASX:DCN). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

Check out our latest analysis for Dacian Gold

How Does Rohan Williams's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Dacian Gold Limited is worth AU$260m, and total annual CEO compensation is AU$1.6m. (This number is for the twelve months until June 2018). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at AU$626k. We examined companies with market caps from AU$149m to AU$595m, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was AU$717k.

It would therefore appear that Dacian Gold Limited pays Rohan Williams 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. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Dacian Gold has changed over time.

Is Dacian Gold Limited Growing?

Over the last three years Dacian Gold Limited has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 51% per year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is down -20% over last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business.

Has Dacian Gold Limited Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 66% over three years, some Dacian Gold Limited 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 examined the amount Dacian Gold Limited pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. However, the returns to investors are far less impressive, over the same period. One might thus conclude that it would be better if the company waited until growth is reflected in the share price, before increasing CEO compensation. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Dacian Gold shares with their own money (free access).

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

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.