Shareholders May Find It Hard To Justify Increasing KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA's (ETR:KWS) CEO Compensation For Now

Key Insights

• KWS SAAT SE KGaA's Annual General Meeting to take place on 5th of December
• CEO Felix Büchting's total compensation includes salary of €468.8k
• The overall pay is comparable to the industry average
• KWS SAAT SE KGaA's EPS grew by 20% over the past three years while total shareholder loss over the past three years was 13%

As many shareholders of KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA (ETR:KWS) will be aware, they have not made a gain on their investment in the past three years. However, what is unusual is that EPS growth has been positive, suggesting that the share price has diverged from fundamentals. Shareholders may want to question the board on the future direction of the company at the upcoming AGM on 5th of December. Voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters could also be a way to influence management. We think shareholders might be reluctant to increase compensation for the CEO at the moment, according to our analysis below.

Check out our latest analysis for KWS SAAT SE KGaA

Comparing KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA's CEO Compensation With The Industry

Our data indicates that KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA has a market capitalization of €2.0b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as €1.2m for the year to June 2024. That's a modest increase of 7.3% on the prior year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at €469k.

In comparison with other companies in the Germany Food industry with market capitalizations ranging from €947m to €3.0b, the reported median CEO total compensation was €1.2m. From this we gather that Felix Büchting is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry.

Component	2024	2023	Proportion (2024)
Salary	€469k	€422k	40%
Other	€713k	€680k	60%
Total Compensation	€1.2m	€1.1m	100%

On an industry level, roughly 57% of total compensation represents salary and 43% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that KWS SAAT SE KGaA 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.

KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA's Growth

KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 20% a year over the past three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 19%.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's a real positive to see this sort of revenue growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. 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 KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 13% for the shareholders, KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

The fact that shareholders are sitting on a loss on the value of their shares in the past few years is certainly disconcerting. A huge lag in share price growth when earnings have grown may indicate there could be other issues that are affecting the company at the moment that the market is focused on. Shareholders would probably be keen to find out what are the other factors could be weighing down the stock. The upcoming AGM will be a chance for shareholders to question the board on key matters, such as CEO remuneration or any other issues they might 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. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for KWS SAAT SE KGaA that you should be aware of before investing.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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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.