Most Shareholders Will Probably Agree With Uni-President China Holdings Ltd's (HKG:220) CEO Compensation

Key Insights

• Uni-President China Holdings' Annual General Meeting to take place on 31st of May
• CEO Xinhua Liu's total compensation includes salary of CN¥1.34m
• The overall pay is 62% below the industry average
• Over the past three years, Uni-President China Holdings' EPS grew by 0.8% and over the past three years, the total loss to shareholders 6.8%

The performance at Uni-President China Holdings Ltd (HKG:220) has been rather lacklustre of late and shareholders may be wondering what CEO Xinhua Liu is planning to do about this. One way they can exercise their influence on management is through voting on resolutions, such as executive remuneration at the next AGM, coming up on 31st of May. Voting on executive pay could be a powerful way to influence management, as studies have shown that the right compensation incentives impact company performance. In our opinion, CEO compensation does not look excessive and we discuss why.

View our latest analysis for Uni-President China Holdings

Comparing Uni-President China Holdings Ltd's CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Uni-President China Holdings Ltd has a market capitalization of HK$30b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of CN¥4.0m for the year to December 2023. Notably, that's an increase of 34% over the year before. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at CN¥1.3m.

For comparison, other companies in the Hong Kong Food industry with market capitalizations ranging between HK$16b and HK$50b had a median total CEO compensation of CN¥10m. In other words, Uni-President China Holdings pays its CEO lower than the industry median. What's more, Xinhua Liu holds HK$2.2m 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	CN¥1.3m	CN¥1.3m	34%
Other	CN¥2.6m	CN¥1.6m	66%
Total Compensation	CN¥4.0m	CN¥3.0m	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 74% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 26% of the pie. Uni-President China Holdings pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared 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 Uni-President China Holdings Ltd's Growth Numbers

Uni-President China Holdings Ltd saw earnings per share stay pretty flat over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 1.2%.

We'd prefer higher revenue growth, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. It's clear the performance has been quite decent, but it it falls short of outstanding,based on this information. 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 Uni-President China Holdings Ltd Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 6.8% for the shareholders, Uni-President China Holdings Ltd would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

The lack lustre share price performance may have something to do with the flat earnings growth. In the upcoming AGM, shareholders will get the opportunity to discuss any concerns with the board and assess if the board's plan is likely to improve company performance.

CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. That's why we did some digging and identified 2 warning signs for Uni-President China Holdings that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity 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.