Increases to CEO Compensation Might Be Put On Hold For Now at Nexans S.A. (EPA:NEX)

Key Insights

• Nexans' Annual General Meeting to take place on 16th of May
• Total pay for CEO Christopher Guerin includes €750.0k salary
• The overall pay is 106% above the industry average
• Nexans' total shareholder return over the past three years was 55% while its EPS grew by 41% over the past three years

CEO Christopher Guerin has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Nexans S.A. (EPA:NEX) recently. This is something shareholders will keep in mind as they cast their votes on company resolutions such as executive remuneration in the upcoming AGM on 16th of May. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.

Check out our latest analysis for Nexans

How Does Total Compensation For Christopher Guerin Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Nexans S.A. has a market capitalization of €4.6b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as €2.4m for the year to December 2023. We note that's a decrease of 12% compared to last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at €750k.

In comparison with other companies in the French Electrical industry with market capitalizations ranging from €3.7b to €11b, the reported median CEO total compensation was €1.1m. Hence, we can conclude that Christopher Guerin is remunerated higher than the industry median. Furthermore, Christopher Guerin directly owns €5.6m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	€750k	€750k	32%
Other	€1.6m	€1.9m	68%
Total Compensation	€2.4m	€2.7m	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 31% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 69% of the pie. Nexans is largely mirroring the industry average when it comes to the share a salary enjoys in overall compensation. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

A Look at Nexans S.A.'s Growth Numbers

Nexans S.A.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 41% per year over the last three years. Its revenue is down 6.9% over the previous year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. 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 Nexans S.A. Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Nexans S.A. for providing a total return of 55% over three years. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.

To Conclude...

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. However, if the board proposes to increase the compensation, some shareholders might have questions given that the CEO is already being paid higher than the industry.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We've identified 1 warning sign for Nexans that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Switching gears from Nexans, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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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.