What Did CITIC Limited's (HKG:267) CEO Take Home Last Year?
Jiong Wang became the CEO of CITIC Limited (HKG:267) in 2014. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at other large companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. 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 CITIC
How Does Jiong Wang's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that CITIC Limited has a market cap of HK$298b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of HK$910k for the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at HK$390k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations over HK$63b and the median CEO total compensation was HK$6.3m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure.
This would give shareholders a good impression of the company, since most large companies pay more, leaving less for shareholders. Though positive, it's important we delve into the performance of the actual business.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at CITIC, below.
Is CITIC Limited Growing?
Over the last three years CITIC Limited has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 19% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 8.2%.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's nice to see a little revenue growth, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has CITIC Limited Been A Good Investment?
CITIC Limited has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 2.4%, over three years. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.
In Summary...
It appears that CITIC Limited remunerates its CEO below most large companies.
Since the business is growing, many would argue this suggests the pay is modest. While some might be keen on seeing higher returns, our short analysis has not produced any evidence to suggest Jiong Wang is overcompensated. Few would complain about reasonable CEO remuneration when the business is growing earnings per share. It would be an additional positive if insiders are buying shares. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling CITIC (free visualization of insider trades).
If you want to buy a stock that is better than CITIC, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
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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.
