Yahoo Finance Should You Worry About Whitbread PLC's (LON:WTB) CEO Pay?
Alison Brittain has been the CEO of Whitbread PLC (LON:WTB) since 2016. 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 Whitbread
How Does Alison Brittain's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Whitbread PLC is worth UK£6.6b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as UK£5.6m for the year to February 2019. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at UK£838k. 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 examined companies with market caps from UK£3.0b to UK£9.0b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was UK£2.7m.
As you can see, Alison Brittain is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Whitbread PLC is paying too much. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Whitbread, below.
Is Whitbread PLC Growing?
On average over the last three years, Whitbread PLC has shrunk earnings per share by 24% each year (measured with a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue changed by just 0.8%.
Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. And the flat revenue hardly impresses. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has Whitbread PLC Been A Good Investment?
Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Whitbread PLC for providing a total return of 47% over three years. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.
In Summary...
We compared total CEO remuneration at Whitbread PLC with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
Earnings per share have not grown in three years, and the revenue growth fails to impress us. On the other hand, returns have been good, so the company is doing something right. So on this analysis we'd stop short of criticizing the level of CEO compensation. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Whitbread.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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