We Take A Look At Why Sasol Limited's (JSE:SOL) CEO Has Earned Their Pay Packet

Key Insights

• Sasol's Annual General Meeting to take place on 17th of November
• Salary of R13.1m is part of CEO Fleetwood Grobler's total remuneration
• The overall pay is comparable to the industry average
• Sasol's EPS grew by 111% over the past three years while total shareholder return over the past three years was 138%

The performance at Sasol Limited (JSE:SOL) has been quite strong recently and CEO Fleetwood Grobler has played a role in it. Coming up to the next AGM on 17th of November, shareholders would be keeping this in mind. It is likely that the focus will be on company strategy going forward as shareholders hear from the board and cast their votes on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters. In light of the great performance, we discuss the case why we think CEO compensation is not excessive.

View our latest analysis for Sasol

How Does Total Compensation For Fleetwood Grobler Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Sasol Limited has a market capitalization of R142b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth R41m over the year to June 2023. We note that's a small decrease of 5.2% on last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at R13m.

On comparing similar companies from the South Africa Chemicals industry with market caps ranging from R75b to R225b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was R36m. From this we gather that Fleetwood Grobler is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry. What's more, Fleetwood Grobler holds R11m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	R13m	R11m	32%
Other	R28m	R32m	68%
Total Compensation	R41m	R43m	100%

On an industry level, roughly 49% of total compensation represents salary and 51% is other remuneration. Sasol sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

Sasol Limited's Growth

Sasol Limited's earnings per share (EPS) grew 111% per year over the last three years. Its revenue is up 6.2% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. 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 Sasol Limited Been A Good Investment?

We think that the total shareholder return of 138%, over three years, would leave most Sasol Limited shareholders smiling. 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 in a relatively good performance, the CEO remuneration policy may not be the focus at the AGM. In fact, strategic decisions that could impact the future of the business might be a far more interesting topic for investors as it would help them set their longer-term expectations.

CEO compensation is a crucial aspect to keep your eyes on but investors also need to keep their eyes open for other issues related to business performance. We did our research and spotted 3 warning signs for Sasol that investors should look into moving forward.

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.