Increases to Sun International Limited's (JSE:SUI) CEO Compensation Might Cool off for now

Key Insights

• Sun International's Annual General Meeting to take place on 8th of May
• Salary of R8.24m is part of CEO Anthony Leeming's total remuneration
• The total compensation is 114% higher than the average for the industry
• Sun International's EPS grew by 89% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 186%

CEO Anthony Leeming has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Sun International Limited (JSE:SUI) recently. As shareholders go into the upcoming AGM on 8th of May, CEO compensation will probably not be their focus, but rather the steps management will take to continue the growth momentum. However, some shareholders may still be hesitant of being overly generous with CEO compensation.

View our latest analysis for Sun International

Comparing Sun International Limited's CEO Compensation With The Industry

According to our data, Sun International Limited has a market capitalization of R9.0b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth R23m over the year to December 2023. That's a fairly small increase of 3.4% over the previous year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at R8.2m.

On examining similar-sized companies in the South Africa Hospitality industry with market capitalizations between R3.7b and R15b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was R11m. This suggests that Anthony Leeming is paid more than the median for the industry. Furthermore, Anthony Leeming directly owns R76m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	R8.2m	R7.8m	36%
Other	R15m	R15m	64%
Total Compensation	R23m	R22m	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 39% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 61% is other remuneration. Although there is a difference in how total compensation is set, Sun International more or less reflects the market in terms of setting the salary. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

A Look at Sun International Limited's Growth Numbers

Sun International Limited has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 89% a year over the past three years. It achieved revenue growth of 7.2% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. 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 Sun International Limited Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Sun International Limited for providing a total return of 186% over three years. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

To Conclude...

Seeing that the company has put up a decent performance, only a few shareholders, if any at all, might have questions about the CEO pay in the upcoming AGM. Still, not all shareholders might be in favor of a pay raise to the CEO, seeing that they are already being paid higher than the industry.

While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. That's why we did some digging and identified 2 warning signs for Sun International that investors should think about before committing capital to this 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.

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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.