Here's Why Société BIC SA's (EPA:BB) CEO Compensation Is The Least Of Shareholders' Concerns

Key Insights

• Société BIC to hold its Annual General Meeting on 29th of May
• Salary of €820.5k is part of CEO Gonzalve Bich's total remuneration
• The overall pay is comparable to the industry average
• Société BIC's total shareholder return over the past three years was 21% while its EPS was down 0.5% over the past three years

The share price of Société BIC SA (EPA:BB) has been growing in the past few years, however, the per-share earnings growth has been lacking, suggesting something is amiss. The upcoming AGM on 29th of May may be an opportunity for shareholders to bring up any concerns they may have for the board’s attention. It would also be an opportunity for them to influence management through exercising their voting power on company resolutions, including CEO and executive remuneration, which could impact on firm performance in the future. From the data that we gathered, we think that shareholders should hold off on a raise on CEO compensation until performance starts to show some improvement.

See our latest analysis for Société BIC

Comparing Société BIC SA's CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Société BIC SA has a market capitalization of €2.8b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of €3.2m for the year to December 2023. That's slightly lower by 7.3% over the previous year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at €821k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the French Commercial Services industry with market capitalizations between €1.8b and €5.9b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was €3.4m. This suggests that Société BIC remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. Moreover, Gonzalve Bich also holds €6.7m worth of Société BIC stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	€821k	€807k	25%
Other	€2.4m	€2.7m	75%
Total Compensation	€3.2m	€3.5m	100%

On an industry level, around 39% of total compensation represents salary and 61% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Société BIC allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary 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.

Société BIC SA's Growth

Société BIC SA saw earnings per share stay pretty flat over the last three years. The trailing twelve months of revenue was pretty much the same as the prior period.

Its a bit disappointing to see that the company has failed to grow its EPS. And the flat revenue hardly impresses. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. 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 Société BIC SA Been A Good Investment?

Société BIC SA has generated a total shareholder return of 21% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.

To Conclude...

Despite the positive returns on shareholders' investments, the fact that earnings have failed to grow makes us skeptical about whether these returns will continue. Shareholders should make the most of the coming opportunity to question the board on key concerns they may have and revisit their investment thesis with regards to the company.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. We did our research and spotted 1 warning sign for Société BIC that investors should look into moving forward.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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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.