Is Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA's (OB:EMGS) CEO Salary Justified?

In 2016 Christiaan Vermeijden was appointed CEO of Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (OB:EMGS). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Electromagnetic Geoservices

How Does Christiaan Vermeijden's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA has a market cap of øre322m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$4m. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below øre1.6b, and calculated the median CEO compensation to be øre3m.

Thus we can conclude that Christiaan Vermeijden receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.

The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Electromagnetic Geoservices has changed from year to year.

Is Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA Growing?

Over the last three years Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 80% per year. In the last year, its revenue is up 23%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. IThis sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business.

You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 82% over three years, some Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

We examined the amount Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. Having said that, shareholders may be disappointed with the weak returns over the last three years. While EPS is positive, we'd say shareholders would want better returns before the CEO is paid much more. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (free visualization of insider trades).

Of course, the past can be informative so you might be interested in considering this analytical visualization showing the company history of earnings and revenue.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.