It's Unlikely That Cloudberry Clean Energy ASA's (OB:CLOUD) CEO Will See A Huge Pay Rise This Year

Key Insights

• Cloudberry Clean Energy will host its Annual General Meeting on 16th of April
• Total pay for CEO Anders Lenborg includes kr4.00m salary
• The total compensation is 141% higher than the average for the industry
• Cloudberry Clean Energy's three-year loss to shareholders was 38% while its EPS grew by 117% over the past three years

In the past three years, the share price of Cloudberry Clean Energy ASA (OB:CLOUD) has struggled to grow and now shareholders are sitting on a loss. However, what is unusual is that EPS growth has been positive, suggesting that the share price has diverged from fundamentals. These are some of the concerns that shareholders may want to bring up at the next AGM held on 16th of April. Voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters could also be a way to influence management. Here's our take on why we think shareholders may want to be cautious of approving a raise for the CEO at the moment.

View our latest analysis for Cloudberry Clean Energy

How Does Total Compensation For Anders Lenborg Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Cloudberry Clean Energy ASA has a market capitalization of kr2.6b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as kr13m for the year to December 2023. We note that's an increase of 17% above last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at kr4.0m.

For comparison, other companies in the Norwegian Renewable Energy industry with market capitalizations ranging between kr1.1b and kr4.3b had a median total CEO compensation of kr5.5m. This suggests that Anders Lenborg is paid more than the median for the industry.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	kr4.0m	kr3.3m	30%
Other	kr9.2m	kr8.0m	70%
Total Compensation	kr13m	kr11m	100%

On an industry level, around 62% of total compensation represents salary and 38% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Cloudberry Clean Energy allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

Cloudberry Clean Energy ASA's Growth

Over the past three years, Cloudberry Clean Energy ASA has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 117% per year. In the last year, its revenue is up 60%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Cloudberry Clean Energy ASA Been A Good Investment?

The return of -38% over three years would not have pleased Cloudberry Clean Energy ASA shareholders. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

The fact that shareholders are sitting on a loss on the value of their shares in the past few years is certainly disconcerting. A huge lag in share price growth when earnings have grown may indicate there could be other issues that are affecting the company at the moment that the market is focused on. If there are some unknown variables that are influencing the stock's price, surely shareholders would have some concerns. The upcoming AGM will be a chance for shareholders to question the board on key matters, such as CEO remuneration or any other issues they might have and revisit their investment thesis with regards to the company.

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 2 warning signs for Cloudberry Clean Energy (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.