We Think Shareholders Are Less Likely To Approve A Large Pay Rise For Aspo Oyj's (HEL:ASPO) CEO For Now

Key Insights

• Aspo Oyj's Annual General Meeting to take place on 12th of April
• CEO Rolf Jansson's total compensation includes salary of €443.0k
• The overall pay is 190% above the industry average
• Aspo Oyj's EPS grew by 14% over the past three years while total shareholder loss over the past three years was 24%

The underwhelming share price performance of Aspo Oyj (HEL:ASPO) in the past three years would have disappointed many shareholders. What is concerning is that despite positive EPS growth, the share price has not tracked the trend in fundamentals. These are some of the concerns that shareholders may want to bring up at the next AGM held on 12th of April. They could also try to influence management and firm direction through voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other company matters. Here's our take on why we think shareholders may want to be cautious of approving a raise for the CEO at the moment.

See our latest analysis for Aspo Oyj

Comparing Aspo Oyj's CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Aspo Oyj has a market capitalization of €190m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of €1.2m for the year to December 2023. That's a notable increase of 65% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at €443k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the Finland Industrials industry with market capitalizations between €92m and €369m, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was €428k. Hence, we can conclude that Rolf Jansson is remunerated higher than the industry median. Moreover, Rolf Jansson also holds €464k worth of Aspo Oyj stock directly under their own name.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	€443k	€437k	36%
Other	€799k	€317k	64%
Total Compensation	€1.2m	€754k	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 40% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 60% of the pie. In Aspo Oyj's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

Aspo Oyj's Growth

Over the past three years, Aspo Oyj has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 14% per year. In the last year, its revenue is down 4.3%.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's always a tough situation when revenues are not growing, but ultimately profits are more important. 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 Aspo Oyj Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 24% over three years, some Aspo Oyj investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

To Conclude...

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. If there are some unknown variables that are influencing the stock's price, surely shareholders would have some concerns. These concerns should be addressed at the upcoming AGM, where shareholders can question the board and evaluate if their judgement and decision making is still in line with their expectations.

CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. We did our research and identified 3 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) in Aspo Oyj we think you should know about.

Important note: Aspo Oyj 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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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.