Does The Character Group plc's (LON:CCT) CEO Pay Compare Well With Peers?

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Kiran Shah has been the CEO of The Character Group plc (LON:CCT) since 2005. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

Check out our latest analysis for Character Group

How Does Kiran Shah's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that The Character Group plc is worth UK£118m, and total annual CEO compensation is UK£870k. (This figure is for the year to August 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK£246k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below UK£157m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is UK£253k.

It would therefore appear that The Character Group plc pays Kiran Shah more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.

The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Character Group has changed from year to year.

Is The Character Group plc Growing?

On average over the last three years, The Character Group plc has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 1.8% each year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 9.9% over last year.

I would argue that the improvement in revenue isn't particularly impressive, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. So there are some positives here, but not enough to earn high praise. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has The Character Group plc Been A Good Investment?

The Character Group plc has generated a total shareholder return of 31% 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.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at The Character Group plc with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

We generally prefer to see stronger EPS growth, and we're not particularly impressed with the total shareholder return, over the last three years. Considering this, we wouldn't want to see any big pay rises, although we'd stop short of calling the CEO compensation unfair. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Character Group.

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

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If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.