Here's What We Learned About The CEO Pay At Guardian Capital Group Limited (TSE:GCG.A)

George Mavroudis has been the CEO of Guardian Capital Group Limited (TSE:GCG.A) since 2011, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also assess whether Guardian Capital Group pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Guardian Capital Group

How Does Total Compensation For George Mavroudis Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Guardian Capital Group Limited has a market capitalization of CA$691m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as CA$2.7m for the year to December 2019. That's just a smallish increase of 6.9% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at CA$500k.

On comparing similar companies from the same industry with market caps ranging from CA$256m to CA$1.0b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was CA$2.5m. From this we gather that George Mavroudis is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry. What's more, George Mavroudis holds CA$2.4m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

On an industry level, around 75% of total compensation represents salary and 25% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Guardian Capital Group allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

Guardian Capital Group Limited's Growth

Over the last three years, Guardian Capital Group Limited has shrunk its earnings per share by 60% per year. In the last year, its revenue is up 12%.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that EPS have declined. While the revenue growth is good to see, it is outweighed by the fact that EPS are down, over three years. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Guardian Capital Group Limited Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 9.8% over three years, Guardian Capital Group Limited has done okay by shareholders. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

To Conclude...

As previously discussed, George is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. Guardian Capital Group has had a tough time in recent years, with declining EPS growth, and although shareholder returns are stable, they are hardly worth celebrating. This doesn't compare well with CEO compensation, which is largely in line with the industry median. Considering all of this, we can't say the CEO is underpaid, and moving forward shareholders will likely want to see higher growth to justify any raise.

CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. In our study, we found 2 warning signs for Guardian Capital Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

Switching gears from Guardian Capital Group, 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.

If you decide to trade Guardian Capital Group, use the lowest-cost* platform that is rated #1 Overall by Barron’s, Interactive Brokers. Trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds on 135 markets, all from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.