There Could Be A Chance Alten S.A.'s (EPA:ATE) CEO Will Have Their Compensation Increased

Key Insights

• Alten to hold its Annual General Meeting on 20th of June
• Total pay for CEO Simon Azoulay includes €400.0k salary
• The total compensation is 37% less than the average for the industry
• Alten's total shareholder return over the past three years was 4.8% while its EPS grew by 32% over the past three years

Shareholders will be pleased by the robust performance of Alten S.A. (EPA:ATE) recently and this will be kept in mind in the upcoming AGM on 20th of June. The focus will probably be on the future strategic initiatives that the board and management will put in place to improve the business rather than executive remuneration when they cast their votes on company resolutions. In our analysis below, we discuss why we think the CEO compensation looks acceptable and the case for a raise.

See our latest analysis for Alten

How Does Total Compensation For Simon Azoulay Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Alten S.A. has a market capitalization of €3.9b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth €856k over the year to December 2023. There was no change in the compensation compared to last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at €400k.

On comparing similar companies from the French IT industry with market caps ranging from €1.9b to €5.9b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was €1.4m. This suggests that Simon Azoulay is paid below the industry median. Moreover, Simon Azoulay also holds €183m worth of Alten 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	€400k	€400k	47%
Other	€456k	€456k	53%
Total Compensation	€856k	€856k	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 47% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 53% is other remuneration. Although there is a difference in how total compensation is set, Alten more or less reflects the market in terms of setting the salary. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

Alten S.A.'s Growth

Over the past three years, Alten S.A. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 32% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 7.6% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. 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 Alten S.A. Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 4.8% over three years, Alten S.A. has done okay by shareholders, but there's always room for improvement. As a result, investors in the company might be reluctant about agreeing to increase CEO pay in the future, before seeing an improvement on their returns.

In Summary...

The company's overall performance, while not bad, could be better. If it continues on the same road, shareholders might feel even more confident about their investment, and have little to no objections concerning CEO pay. In fact, strategic decisions that could impact the future of the business might be a far more interesting topic for investors as it would help them set their longer-term expectations.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Alten that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Important note: Alten 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.