Stock Analysis

How Much Did DFCITY Group Berhad's (KLSE:DFCITY) CEO Pocket Last Year?

KLSE:DFCITY
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Kim Hock Low became the CEO of DFCITY Group Berhad (KLSE:DFCITY) in 2013, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for DFCITY Group Berhad.

View our latest analysis for DFCITY Group Berhad

Comparing DFCITY Group Berhad's CEO Compensation With the industry

According to our data, DFCITY Group Berhad has a market capitalization of RM43m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth RM428k over the year to December 2019. This means that the compensation hasn't changed much from last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at RM186k.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations under RM812m, the reported median total CEO compensation was RM428k. This suggests that DFCITY Group Berhad remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. Moreover, Kim Hock Low also holds RM3.1m worth of DFCITY Group Berhad stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Component20192018Proportion (2019)
Salary RM186k RM186k 43%
Other RM242k RM233k 57%
Total CompensationRM428k RM419k100%

On an industry level, roughly 77% of total compensation represents salary and 23% is other remuneration. In DFCITY Group Berhad's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

ceo-compensation
KLSE:DFCITY CEO Compensation December 29th 2020

A Look at DFCITY Group Berhad's Growth Numbers

DFCITY Group Berhad has reduced its earnings per share by 116% a year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is down 48%.

The decline in EPS is a bit concerning. And the impression is worse when you consider revenue is down year-on-year. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. While we don't have analyst forecasts for the company, shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has DFCITY Group Berhad Been A Good Investment?

DFCITY Group Berhad has generated a total shareholder return of 4.3% over three years, so most shareholders wouldn't be too disappointed. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.

To Conclude...

As previously discussed, Kim Hock is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. DFCITY Group Berhad has had a poor showing when it comes to EPS growth, and it's tough to say that shareholder returns have done much to excite us. This doesn't compare well with CEO compensation, which is largely in line with the industry median. Considering all of this, we can't say the CEO is underpaid, and moving forward shareholders will likely want to see higher growth to justify any raise.

CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. In our study, we found 3 warning signs for DFCITY Group Berhad you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

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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