Shareholders May Be More Conservative With Santova Limited's (JSE:SNV) CEO Compensation For Now

Key Insights

• Santova to hold its Annual General Meeting on 29th of July
• Salary of R5.34m is part of CEO Glen Gerber's total remuneration
• Total compensation is 653% above industry average
• Over the past three years, Santova's EPS grew by 35% and over the past three years, the total shareholder return was 130%

CEO Glen Gerber has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Santova Limited (JSE:SNV) recently. This is something shareholders will keep in mind as they cast their votes on company resolutions such as executive remuneration in the upcoming AGM on 29th of July. However, some shareholders may still want to keep CEO compensation within reason.

View our latest analysis for Santova

Comparing Santova Limited's CEO Compensation With The Industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Santova Limited has a market capitalization of R1.0b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of R18m for the year to February 2024. That's a notable increase of 39% on last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at R5.3m.

In comparison with other companies in the South Africa Logistics industry with market capitalizations under R3.7b, the reported median total CEO compensation was R2.4m. This suggests that Glen Gerber is paid more than the median for the industry. What's more, Glen Gerber holds R58m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component	2024	2023	Proportion (2024)
Salary	R5.3m	R4.2m	30%
Other	R12m	R8.5m	70%
Total Compensation	R18m	R13m	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 59% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 41% is other remuneration. Santova pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

Santova Limited's Growth

Santova Limited has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 35% a year over the past three years. In the last year, its revenue is down 4.7%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Santova Limited Been A Good Investment?

We think that the total shareholder return of 130%, over three years, would leave most Santova Limited shareholders smiling. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

To Conclude...

Given that the company's overall performance has been reasonable, the CEO remuneration policy might not be shareholders' central point of focus 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. We did our research and spotted 2 warning signs for Santova 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.

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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.

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