James Chirnside became the CEO of Dart Mining NL (ASX:DTM) in 2015. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. 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. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Dart Mining

How Does James Chirnside's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that Dart Mining NL has a market cap of AU$3.5m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of AU$197k for the year to June 2019. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at AU$180k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below AU$306m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is AU$383k.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of Dart Mining. Speaking on an industry level, we can see that nearly 70% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 30% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Dart Mining pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, in comparison to the wider industry.

At first glance this seems like a real positive for shareholders, since James Chirnside is paid less than the average total compensation paid by similar sized companies. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Dart Mining has changed from year to year.

Is Dart Mining NL Growing?

On average over the last three years, Dart Mining NL has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a favourable direction by 32% each year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 679%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. Most shareholders would be pleased to see strong revenue growth combined with EPS growth. This combo suggests a fast growing business. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Dart Mining NL Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 54% over three years, some Dart Mining NL shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.