We Think Some Shareholders May Hesitate To Increase HKT Trust and HKT Limited's (HKG:6823) CEO Compensation

CEO Susanna Hui has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at HKT Trust and HKT Limited (HKG:6823) recently. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 07 May 2021. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

See our latest analysis for HKT Trust and HKT

How Does Total Compensation For Susanna Hui Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that HKT Trust and HKT Limited has a market capitalization of HK$85b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of HK$21m for the year to December 2020. That is, the compensation was roughly the same as last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at HK$4.7m.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations over HK$62b , the reported median total CEO compensation was HK$2.8m. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that HKT Trust and HKT Limited pays Susanna Hui north of the industry median. Furthermore, Susanna Hui directly owns HK$49m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2020	2019	Proportion (2020)
Salary	HK$4.7m	HK$4.6m	22%
Other	HK$16m	HK$16m	78%
Total Compensation	HK$21m	HK$21m	100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 41% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 59% of the pie. HKT Trust and HKT pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

HKT Trust and HKT Limited's Growth

HKT Trust and HKT Limited's earnings per share (EPS) grew 3.8% per year over the last three years. Its revenue is down 2.1% over the previous year.

We generally like to see a little revenue growth, but it is good to see a modest EPS growth at least. These two metrics are moving in different directions, so while it's hard to be confident judging performance, we think the stock is worth watching. 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 HKT Trust and HKT Limited Been A Good Investment?

HKT Trust and HKT Limited has generated a total shareholder return of 30% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

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. Still, not all shareholders might be in favor of a pay raise to the CEO, seeing that they are already being paid higher than the industry.

We can learn a lot about a company by studying its CEO compensation trends, along with looking at other aspects of the business. That's why we did our research, and identified 3 warning signs for HKT Trust and HKT (of which 2 are potentially serious!) that you should know about in order to have a holistic understanding of the 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. 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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