Yahoo Finance Here's What We Think About United Utilities Group PLC's (LON:UU.) CEO Pay
Steve Mogford became the CEO of United Utilities Group PLC (LON:UU.) in 2011. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
Check out our latest analysis for United Utilities Group
How Does Steve Mogford's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that United Utilities Group PLC has a market cap of UK£6.8b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of UK£2.3m for the year to March 2019. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at UK£754k. We note that more than half of the total compensation is not the salary; and performance requirements may apply to this non-salary portion. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from UK£3.1b to UK£9.2b, and the median CEO total compensation was UK£2.5m.
So Steve Mogford receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at United Utilities Group has changed from year to year.
Is United Utilities Group PLC Growing?
United Utilities Group PLC has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 10% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 3.5% over last year.
Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. And the modest revenue growth over 12 months isn't much comfort against the reduced earnings per share. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.
Has United Utilities Group PLC Been A Good Investment?
United Utilities Group PLC has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 22% over three years. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary...
Steve Mogford is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.
We feel that earnings per share have been a bit disappointing, but and we don't think the total returns are amazing. We're not saying the CEO pay is too generous, but one might argue that the company should improve returns to shareholders before increasing it. So you may want to check if insiders are buying United Utilities Group shares with their own money (free access).
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.
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.
