Should You Worry About Thakral Corporation Ltd's (SGX:AWI) CEO Pay Cheque?

In 2016, Bethal Thakral was appointed CEO of Thakral Corporation Ltd (SGX:AWI). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Thakral

How Does Bethal Thakral's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Thakral Corporation Ltd has a market capitalization of S$59m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth S$803k over the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at S$273k. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under S$282m, and the median CEO total compensation was S$472k.

Now let's take a look at the pay mix on an industry and company level to gain a better understanding of where Thakral stands. Taking a bird's eye view of the industry, we see that a majority of companies prefer paying their CEOs through salaries, as opposed to non-salary compensation. Readers will want to know that Thakral pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the wider sector.

It would therefore appear that Thakral Corporation Ltd pays Bethal Thakral more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration 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, below, how CEO compensation at Thakral has changed over time.

Is Thakral Corporation Ltd Growing?

Over the last three years Thakral Corporation Ltd has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 8.8% per year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down 31%.

Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. This is compounded by the fact revenue is actually down on last year. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Thakral Corporation Ltd Been A Good Investment?

I think that the total shareholder return of 85%, over three years, would leave most Thakral Corporation Ltd shareholders smiling. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Thakral Corporation Ltd, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

We think many shareholders would be underwhelmed with the business growth over the last three years. But clearly there are some positives, because investors have done well over the same time frame. Considering this, shareholders are probably not too worried about the CEO compensation. On another note, we've spotted 2 warning signs for Thakral that investors should look into moving forward.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Thakral, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.