Is Koenig & Bauer AG’s (FRA:SKB) CEO Paid Enough Relative To Peers?
In 2011 Claus Bolza-Schünemann was appointed CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG (FRA:SKB). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we’ll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
See our latest analysis for Koenig & Bauer
How Does Claus Bolza-Schünemann’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Koenig & Bauer AG is worth €679m, and total annual CEO compensation is €1.6m. (This figure is for the year to 2017). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at €450k. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of €353m to €1.4b. The median total CEO compensation was €1.2m.
It would therefore appear that Koenig & Bauer AG pays Claus Bolza-Schünemann more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn’t mean the remuneration is too high. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Koenig & Bauer has changed from year to year.
Is Koenig & Bauer AG Growing?
Over the last three years Koenig & Bauer AG has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 31% per year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is down -2.1% over last year.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end.
It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.
Has Koenig & Bauer AG Been A Good Investment?
Boasting a total shareholder return of 47% over three years, Koenig & Bauer AG has done well by shareholders. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary…
We examined the amount Koenig & Bauer AG pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. Even better, returns to shareholders have been plentiful, over the same time period. As a result of this good performance, the CEO remuneration may well be quite reasonable. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Koenig & Bauer.
Or you could feast your eyes on this interactive graph depicting past earnings, cash flow and revenue.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
