Shareholders May Be Wary Of Increasing AS Ekspress Grupp's (TAL:EEG1T) CEO Compensation Package
Key Insights
- AS Ekspress Grupp will host its Annual General Meeting on 23rd of May
- Total pay for CEO Mari-Liis Ruutsalu includes €166.0k salary
- Total compensation is similar to the industry average
- Over the past three years, AS Ekspress Grupp's EPS fell by 11% and over the past three years, the total loss to shareholders 35%
AS Ekspress Grupp (TAL:EEG1T) has not performed well recently and CEO Mari-Liis Ruutsalu will probably need to up their game. Shareholders will be interested in what the board will have to say about turning performance around at the next AGM on 23rd of May. They will also get a chance to influence managerial decision-making through voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration, which may impact firm value in the future. We present the case why we think CEO compensation is out of sync with company performance.
View our latest analysis for AS Ekspress Grupp
Comparing AS Ekspress Grupp's CEO Compensation With The Industry
Our data indicates that AS Ekspress Grupp has a market capitalization of €31m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as €203k for the year to December 2024. That's a fairly small increase of 6.3% over the previous year. Notably, the salary which is €166.0k, represents most of the total compensation being paid.
For comparison, other companies in the Europe Media industry with market capitalizations below €179m, reported a median total CEO compensation of €284k. From this we gather that Mari-Liis Ruutsalu is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry.
| Component | 2024 | 2023 | Proportion (2024) |
| Salary | €166k | €166k | 82% |
| Other | €37k | €25k | 18% |
| Total Compensation | €203k | €191k | 100% |
On an industry level, roughly 49% of total compensation represents salary and 51% is other remuneration. AS Ekspress Grupp is paying a higher share of its remuneration through a salary in comparison to the overall industry. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.
AS Ekspress Grupp's Growth
AS Ekspress Grupp has reduced its earnings per share by 11% a year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 6.1%.
Few shareholders would be pleased to read that EPS have declined. The modest increase in revenue in the last year isn't enough to make us overlook the disappointing change in EPS. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has AS Ekspress Grupp Been A Good Investment?
With a total shareholder return of -35% over three years, AS Ekspress Grupp shareholders would by and large be disappointed. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.
To Conclude...
Along with the business performing poorly, shareholders have suffered with poor share price returns on their investments, suggesting that there's little to no chance of them being in favor of a CEO pay raise. At the upcoming AGM, the board will get the chance to explain the steps it plans to take to improve business performance.
CEO compensation is a crucial aspect to keep your eyes on but investors also need to keep their eyes open for other issues related to business performance. That's why we did some digging and identified 2 warning signs for AS Ekspress Grupp that you should be aware of before investing.
Important note: AS Ekspress Grupp is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
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