Is Phoenix Group Holdings’s (LON:PHNX) CEO Salary Justified?
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Clive Christopher Bannister has been the CEO of Phoenix Group Holdings (LON:PHNX) since 2011. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
See our latest analysis for Phoenix Group Holdings
How Does Clive Christopher Bannister’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Phoenix Group Holdings has a market capitalization of UK£5.0b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth UK£2.9m. (This is based on the year to December 2017). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK£700k. We examined companies with market caps from UK£3.1b to UK£9.2b, and discovered that the median CEO compensation of that group was UK£2.5m.
So Clive Christopher Bannister receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. Although this fact alone doesn’t tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Phoenix Group Holdings has changed from year to year.
Is Phoenix Group Holdings Growing?
Over the last three years Phoenix Group Holdings has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 81% per year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down -25%.
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. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.
Has Phoenix Group Holdings Been A Good Investment?
Phoenix Group Holdings has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 30% over three years. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.
In Summary…
Remuneration for Clive Christopher Bannister is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .
We’re not seeing great strides in earnings per share, and total returns were decent but not amazing in the last three years. 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. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Phoenix Group Holdings (free visualization of insider trades).
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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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. Thank you for reading.