Shareholders Will Probably Hold Off On Increasing Apetit Oyj's (HEL:APETIT) CEO Compensation For The Time Being

Key Insights

• Apetit Oyj to hold its Annual General Meeting on 13th of April
• Salary of €337.0k is part of CEO Esa Mäki's total remuneration
• The total compensation is 73% higher than the average for the industry
• Apetit Oyj's EPS grew by 59% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 88%

Performance at Apetit Oyj (HEL:APETIT) has been reasonably good and CEO Esa Mäki has done a decent job of steering the company in the right direction. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 13th of April, CEO compensation will probably not be their focus, but rather the steps management will take to continue the growth momentum. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

View our latest analysis for Apetit Oyj

How Does Total Compensation For Esa Mäki Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that Apetit Oyj has a market capitalization of €83m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of €371k for the year to December 2022. That's just a smallish increase of 6.0% on last year. In particular, the salary of €337.0k, makes up a huge portion of the total compensation being paid to the CEO.

On comparing similar-sized companies in the Finnish Food industry with market capitalizations below €183m, we found that the median total CEO compensation was €215k. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that Apetit Oyj pays Esa Mäki north of the industry median. What's more, Esa Mäki holds €107k worth of shares in the company in their own name.

Component	2022	2021	Proportion (2022)
Salary	€337k	€317k	91%
Other	€34k	€33k	9%
Total Compensation	€371k	€350k	100%

On an industry level, around 57% of total compensation represents salary and 43% is other remuneration. Apetit Oyj pays out 91% of remuneration in the form of a salary, significantly higher than the industry average. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

Apetit Oyj's Growth

Over the past three years, Apetit Oyj has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 59% per year. In the last year, its revenue is up 22%.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Apetit Oyj Been A Good Investment?

We think that the total shareholder return of 88%, over three years, would leave most Apetit Oyj shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

Seeing that the company has put up a decent performance, only a few shareholders, if any at all, might have questions about the CEO pay in the upcoming AGM. Still, not all shareholders might be in favor of a pay raise to the CEO, seeing that they are already being paid higher than the industry.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. That's why we did some digging and identified 3 warning signs for Apetit Oyj that you should be aware of before investing.

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.

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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.