How Should Investors Feel About Protector Forsikring ASA's (OB:PROTCT) CEO Pay?

Sverre Bjerkeli became the CEO of Protector Forsikring ASA (OB:PROTCT) in 2006. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

Check out our latest analysis for Protector Forsikring

How Does Sverre Bjerkeli's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Protector Forsikring ASA is worth kr3.8b, and total annual CEO compensation is kr12m. (This is based on the year to December 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at kr6.9m. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from kr1.8b to kr7.2b, we found the median CEO total compensation was kr4.9m.

Thus we can conclude that Sverre Bjerkeli receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Protector Forsikring ASA. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Protector Forsikring, below.

Is Protector Forsikring ASA Growing?

On average over the last three years, Protector Forsikring ASA has shrunk earnings per share by 51% each year (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 16% over last year.

Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. And while it's good to see some good revenue growth recently, the growth isn't really fast enough for me to put aside my concerns around earnings. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO.

Has Protector Forsikring ASA Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 34%, Protector Forsikring ASA would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at Protector Forsikring ASA with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

Earnings per share have not grown in three years, and the revenue growth fails to impress us.

Just as bad, share price gains for investors have failed to materialize, over the same period. This analysis suggests to us that the CEO is paid too generously! If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Protector Forsikring.

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.