It's Unlikely That Bunzl plc's (LON:BNZL) CEO Will See A Huge Pay Rise This Year

Key Insights

• Bunzl to hold its Annual General Meeting on 23rd of April
• CEO Frank Van Zanten's total compensation includes salary of UK£1.03m
• Total compensation is 50% above industry average
• Over the past three years, Bunzl's EPS grew by 5.0% and over the past three years, the total shareholder return was 6.8%

Our free stock report includes 1 warning sign investors should be aware of before investing in Bunzl. Read for free now.

Performance at Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) has been reasonably good and CEO Frank Van Zanten has done a decent job of steering the company in the right direction. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 23rd of April. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

View our latest analysis for Bunzl

Comparing Bunzl plc's CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Bunzl plc has a market capitalization of UK£10b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of UK£4.7m for the year to December 2024. Notably, that's a decrease of 25% over the year before. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at UK£1.0m.

In comparison with other companies in the British Trade Distributors industry with market capitalizations over UK£6.0b, the reported median total CEO compensation was UK£3.2m. This suggests that Frank Van Zanten is paid more than the median for the industry. What's more, Frank Van Zanten holds UK£8.6m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

On an industry level, around 68% of total compensation represents salary and 32% is other remuneration. In Bunzl's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

A Look at Bunzl plc's Growth Numbers

Over the past three years, Bunzl plc has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 5.0% per year. Revenue was pretty flat on last year.

We would prefer it if there was revenue growth, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. It's hard to reach a conclusion about business performance right now. This may be one to watch. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Bunzl plc Been A Good Investment?

Bunzl plc has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 6.8%, over three years. It would be nice to see that metric improve in the future. Accordingly, a proposal to increase CEO remuneration without seeing an improvement in shareholder returns might not be met favorably by most shareholders.

In Summary...

The company's decent performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the concerns to be discussed 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.

CEO compensation is a crucial aspect to keep your eyes on but investors also need to keep their eyes open for other issues related to business performance. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Bunzl that you should be aware of before investing.

Switching gears from Bunzl, 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.