Shareholders May Be More Conservative With Dunelm Group plc's (LON:DNLM) CEO Compensation For Now

Key Insights

• Dunelm Group's Annual General Meeting to take place on 16th of November
• Total pay for CEO Nick Wilkinson includes UK£582.0k salary
• The overall pay is 138% above the industry average
• Dunelm Group's EPS grew by 20% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 5.0%

CEO Nick Wilkinson has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Dunelm Group plc (LON:DNLM) recently. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 16th of November. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.

See our latest analysis for Dunelm Group

How Does Total Compensation For Nick Wilkinson Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that Dunelm Group plc has a market capitalization of UK£2.1b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of UK£2.0m for the year to July 2023. We note that's a decrease of 21% compared to last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at UK£582k.

For comparison, other companies in the British Specialty Retail industry with market capitalizations ranging between UK£1.6b and UK£5.2b had a median total CEO compensation of UK£835k. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that Dunelm Group plc pays Nick Wilkinson north of the industry median. What's more, Nick Wilkinson holds UK£3.9m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	UK£582k	UK£580k	29%
Other	UK£1.4m	UK£1.9m	71%
Total Compensation	UK£2.0m	UK£2.5m	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 56% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 44% is other remuneration. Dunelm Group sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

Dunelm Group plc's Growth

Over the past three years, Dunelm Group plc has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 20% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 3.7% over the last year.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Dunelm Group plc Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 5.0% over three years, Dunelm Group plc has done okay by shareholders, but there's always room for improvement. In light of that, investors might probably want to see an improvement on their returns before they feel generous about increasing the CEO remuneration.

In Summary...

Given that the company's overall performance has been reasonable, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus 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 Dunelm Group that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Switching gears from Dunelm 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.