Should You Be Pleased About The CEO Pay At Cellmid Limited's (ASX:CDY)

In 2007 Maria Halasz was appointed CEO of Cellmid Limited (ASX:CDY). 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 we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Cellmid

How Does Maria Halasz's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Cellmid Limited has a market cap of AU$19m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of AU$474k. (This figure is for the year to June 2018). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at AU$429k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below AU$282m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is AU$354k.

Thus we can conclude that Maria Halasz receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Cellmid Limited. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay 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 Cellmid has changed over time.

Is Cellmid Limited Growing?

Over the last three years Cellmid Limited has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 1.4% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 7.1%.

I would argue that the improvement in revenue isn't particularly impressive, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. It's clear the performance has been quite decent, but it it falls short of outstanding,based on this information. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Cellmid Limited Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 42%, Cellmid Limited would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Cellmid Limited, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

Over the last three years, shareholder returns have been downright disappointing, and the underlying business has failed to impress us. Considering this, we have the opinion that the CEO pay is more on the generous side, than the modest side. Shareholders may want to check for free if Cellmid insiders are buying or selling shares.

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

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.