Should You Worry About Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.'s (TSE:INE) CEO Pay Cheque?

Michel Letellier has been the CEO of Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (TSE:INE) since 2007. 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 - 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.

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View our latest analysis for Innergex Renewable Energy

How Does Michel Letellier's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. has a market capitalization of CA$1.9b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth CA$1.4m. (This figure is for the year to December 2018). That's a fairly small increase of 3.6% on year before. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at CA$537k. We examined companies with market caps from CA$1.3b to CA$4.3b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was CA$3.0m.

Most shareholders would consider it a positive that Michel Letellier takes less total compensation than the CEOs of most similar size companies, leaving more for shareholders. Though positive, it's important we delve into the performance of the actual business.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Innergex Renewable Energy has changed over time.

Is Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. Growing?

Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 37% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 41% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. The combination of strong revenue growth with medium-term earnings per share improvement certainly points to the kind of growth I like to see. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 10.0% over three years, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. has done okay by shareholders. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.

In Summary...

It looks like Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. pays its CEO less than similar sized companies. Considering the underlying business is growing earnings, this would suggest the pay is modest. While some might be keen on seeing higher returns, our short analysis has not produced any evidence to suggest Michel Letellier is overcompensated.

It's good to see reasonable payment of the CEO, even while the business improves. But it would be nice if insiders were also buying shares. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Innergex Renewable Energy (free visualization of insider trades).

Important note: Innergex Renewable Energy may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.