Increases to CEO Compensation Might Be Put On Hold For Now at Bellevue Group AG (VTX:BBN)

CEO André Rüegg has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Bellevue Group AG (VTX:BBN) recently. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 23 March 2021, CEO compensation will probably not be their focus, but rather the steps management will take to continue the growth momentum. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

View our latest analysis for Bellevue Group

How Does Total Compensation For André Rüegg Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Bellevue Group AG has a market capitalization of CHF559m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as CHF1.9m for the year to December 2020. That's a slight decrease of 4.3% on the prior year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at CHF314k.

On comparing similar companies from the same industry with market caps ranging from CHF371m to CHF1.5b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was CHF940k. This suggests that André Rüegg is paid more than the median for the industry. What's more, André Rüegg holds CHF13m 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	CHF314k	CHF350k	17%
Other	CHF1.6m	CHF1.6m	83%
Total Compensation	CHF1.9m	CHF1.9m	100%

On an industry level, around 54% of total compensation represents salary and 46% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Bellevue Group allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

Bellevue Group AG's Growth

Bellevue Group AG's earnings per share (EPS) grew 2.5% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 8.9%.

We'd prefer higher revenue growth, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. So there are some positives here, but not enough to earn high praise. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Bellevue Group AG Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Bellevue Group AG for providing a total return of 110% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

To Conclude...

The company's decent performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the concerns to be discussed in the upcoming AGM. However, any decision to raise CEO pay might be met with some objections from the shareholders given that the CEO is already paid higher than the industry average.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We did our research and spotted 3 warning signs for Bellevue Group that investors should look into moving forward.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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