We think ageas SA/NV's (EBR:AGS) CEO May Struggle To See Much Of A Pay Rise This Year

Key Insights

• ageas to hold its Annual General Meeting on 15th of May
• CEO Hans Jozef de Cuyper's total compensation includes salary of €750.0k
• The total compensation is similar to the average for the industry
• ageas' total shareholder return over the past three years was 0.5% while its EPS was down 5.1% over the past three years

The anaemic share price growth at ageas SA/NV (EBR:AGS) over the past few years has probably not impressed shareholders and may be due to earnings not growing over that period. The upcoming AGM on 15th of May may be an opportunity for shareholders to bring up any concerns they may have for the board’s attention. They will be able to influence managerial decisions through the exercise of their voting power on resolutions, such as CEO remuneration and other matters, which may influence future company prospects. From the data that we gathered, we think that shareholders should hold off on a raise on CEO compensation until performance starts to show some improvement.

View our latest analysis for ageas

Comparing ageas SA/NV's CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that ageas SA/NV has a market capitalization of €8.2b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of €1.6m for the year to December 2023. That's a notable decrease of 9.7% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at €750k.

In comparison with other companies in the Belgium Insurance industry with market capitalizations ranging from €3.7b to €11b, the reported median CEO total compensation was €1.7m. So it looks like ageas compensates Hans Jozef de Cuyper in line with the median for the industry. What's more, Hans Jozef de Cuyper holds €411k worth of shares in the company in their own name.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	€750k	€750k	46%
Other	€883k	€1.1m	54%
Total Compensation	€1.6m	€1.8m	100%

On an industry level, roughly 41% of total compensation represents salary and 59% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that ageas pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, compared to the industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

ageas SA/NV's Growth

Over the last three years, ageas SA/NV has shrunk its earnings per share by 5.1% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 7.7% over the last year.

The decline in EPS is a bit concerning. And the modest revenue growth over 12 months isn't much comfort against the reduced EPS. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has ageas SA/NV Been A Good Investment?

ageas SA/NV has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 0.5%, over three years. It would be nice to see that metric improve in the future. Accordingly, a proposal to increase CEO remuneration without seeing an improvement in shareholder returns might not be met favorably by most shareholders.

In Summary...

While it's true that the share price growth hasn't been bad, it's hard to overlook the lack of earnings growth and this makes us question whether there will be any strong catalyst for the stock to improve. Shareholders should make the most of the coming opportunity to question the board on key concerns they may have and revisit their investment thesis with regards to the company.

While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. We did our research and spotted 1 warning sign for ageas that investors should look into moving forward.

Important note: ageas is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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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.