Shareholders Will Probably Hold Off On Increasing XPS Pensions Group plc's (LON:XPS) CEO Compensation For The Time Being

In the past three years, the share price of XPS Pensions Group plc (LON:XPS) has struggled to generate growth for its shareholders. What is concerning is that despite positive EPS growth, the share price has not tracked the trend in fundamentals. The AGM coming up on the 07 September 2021 could be an opportunity for shareholders to bring these concerns to the board's attention. Voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters could also be a way to influence management. Here's our take on why we think shareholders may want to be cautious of approving a raise for the CEO at the moment.

View our latest analysis for XPS Pensions Group

Comparing XPS Pensions Group plc's CEO Compensation With the industry

Our data indicates that XPS Pensions Group plc has a market capitalization of UK£293m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as UK£673k for the year to March 2021. That's a notable increase of 18% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at UK£288k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between UK£145m and UK£581m, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was UK£741k. So it looks like XPS Pensions Group compensates Ben Bramhall in line with the median for the industry. What's more, Ben Bramhall holds UK£2.3m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2021	2020	Proportion (2021)
Salary	UK£288k	UK£288k	43%
Other	UK£385k	UK£281k	57%
Total Compensation	UK£673k	UK£569k	100%

Talking in terms of the broader industry, salary and other compensation roughly make up 50% each, of the total compensation. In XPS Pensions Group's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

A Look at XPS Pensions Group plc's Growth Numbers

XPS Pensions Group plc has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 44% a year over the past three years. Its revenue is up 6.8% over the last year.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's nice to see revenue heading northwards, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. 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 XPS Pensions Group plc Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 4.8% for the shareholders, XPS Pensions Group plc would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

The fact that shareholders are sitting on a loss on the value of their shares in the past few years is certainly disconcerting. The stock's movement is disjointed with the company's earnings growth, which ideally should move in the same direction. Shareholders would probably be keen to find out what are the other factors could be weighing down the stock. At the upcoming AGM, shareholders will get the opportunity to discuss any issues with the board, including those related to CEO remuneration and assess if the board's plan will likely improve performance in the future.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for XPS Pensions Group that you should be aware of before investing.

Switching gears from XPS Pensions Group, 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.
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