How Much Did 4SC AG's (ETR:VSC) CEO Pocket Last Year?

Jason Loveridge has been the CEO of 4SC AG (ETR:VSC) since 2016. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. 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. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

Check out our latest analysis for 4SC

How Does Jason Loveridge's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that 4SC AG is worth €87m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as €679k for the year to December 2019. That's a fairly small increase of 1.5% on year before. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at €377k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below €183m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is €396k.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of 4SC. Talking in terms of the sector, salary represented approximately 50% of total compensation out of all the companies we analysed, while other remuneration made up 50% of the pie. So it seems like there isn't a significant difference between 4SC and the broader market, in terms of salary allocation in the overall compensation package.

It would therefore appear that 4SC AG pays Jason Loveridge more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration is too high. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at 4SC has changed over time.

Is 4SC AG Growing?

4SC AG has seen earnings per share (EPS) move positively by an average of 5.5% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop 47% over the last year.

I would argue that the lack of revenue growth in the last year is less than ideal, but it is good to see EPS growth. It's hard to reach a conclusion about business performance right now. This may be one to watch. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has 4SC AG Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 16% over three years, many shareholders in 4SC AG are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by 4SC AG, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

While we have not been overly impressed by the business performance, the shareholder returns, over three years, have been disappointing. Although we'd stop short of calling it inappropriate, we think the CEO compensation is probably more on the generous side of things. Taking a breather from CEO compensation, we've spotted 6 warning signs for 4SC (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about in order to have a holistic understanding of the stock.

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.

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.

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