The CEO of Xref Limited (ASX:XF1) is Lee-Martin Seymour, and this article examines the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also assess whether Xref pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.
See our latest analysis for Xref
How Does Total Compensation For Lee-Martin Seymour Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?
At the time of writing, our data shows that Xref Limited has a market capitalization of AU$47m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of AU$318k for the year to June 2020. Notably, that's an increase of 8.4% over the year before. We note that the salary portion, which stands at AU$292.5k constitutes the majority of total compensation received by the CEO.
In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations under AU$275m, the reported median total CEO compensation was AU$336k. So it looks like Xref compensates Lee-Martin Seymour in line with the median for the industry. What's more, Lee-Martin Seymour holds AU$7.6m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.
| Component | 2020 | 2019 | Proportion (2020) |
| Salary | AU$293k | AU$270k | 92% |
| Other | AU$26k | AU$24k | 8% |
| Total Compensation | AU$318k | AU$294k | 100% |
On an industry level, roughly 59% of total compensation represents salary and 41% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Xref pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, compared to the industry. If total compensation veers towards salary, it suggests that the variable portion - which is generally tied to performance, is lower.
Xref Limited's Growth
Xref Limited has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 4.0% a year over the past three years. Revenue was pretty flat on last year.
We generally like to see a little revenue growth, but the modest EPSgrowth gives us some relief. It's hard to reach a conclusion about business performance right now. This may be one to watch. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..
Has Xref Limited Been A Good Investment?
Since shareholders would have lost about 62% over three years, some Xref Limited investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.
To Conclude...
As we touched on above, Xref Limited is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. Meanwhile, Xref is suffering from adverse shareholder returns and althoughEPS have grown over the past three years, they have not been extraordinary. CEO pay isn't exceptionally high, but considering poor performance, shareholders will likely hold off support for a raise until results improve.
We can learn a lot about a company by studying its CEO compensation trends, along with looking at other aspects of the business. We identified 4 warning signs for Xref (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
Switching gears from Xref, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
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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. 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.
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About ASX:XF1
Xref
Engages in the development of human resources technology that automates automated reference checking services in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States.
Moderate and slightly overvalued.
