Should You Worry About Delticom AG's (ETR:DEX) CEO Salary Level?

Andreas Prüfer became the CEO of Delticom AG (ETR:DEX) in 2014. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. 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.

See our latest analysis for Delticom

Want to help shape the future of investing tools and platforms? Take the survey and be part of one of the most advanced studies of stock market investors to date.

How Does Andreas Prüfer's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Delticom AG has a market capitalization of €91m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth €561k. (This number is for the twelve months until 2016). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at €475k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under €176m, and the median CEO compensation was €269k.

It would therefore appear that Delticom AG pays Andreas Prüfer 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 better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Delticom, below.

Is Delticom AG Growing?

Over the last three years Delticom AG has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 20% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 5.2% over the last year.

Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. The modest increase in revenue in the last year isn't enough to make me overlook the disappointing change in earnings per share. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO.

It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Delticom AG Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 58% over three years, some Delticom AG shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Delticom AG, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

Neither earnings per share nor revenue have been growing sufficiently fast to impress us, over the last three years.

Just as bad, share price gains for investors have failed to materialize, over the same period. Some might well form the view that the CEO is paid too generously! CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Delticom (free visualization of insider trades).

Or you might rather take a peek at this analytical visualization of historic cash flow, earnings and revenue.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.