Russell Baskerville is the CEO of Empired Limited (ASX:EPD). 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.

View our latest analysis for Empired

How Does Russell Baskerville's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Empired Limited has a market capitalization of AU$46m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth AU$863k over the year to June 2019. That's actually a decrease on the year before. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at AU$644k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under AU$292m, and the median CEO total compensation was AU$381k.

As you can see, Russell Baskerville is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Empired Limited 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.

The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Empired has changed from year to year.

Is Empired Limited Growing?

On average over the last three years, Empired Limited has shrunk earnings per share by 43% each year (measured with a line of best fit). The trailing twelve months of revenue was pretty much the same as the prior period.

Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. And the flat revenue hardly impresses. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Empired Limited Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 43% over three years, many shareholders in Empired Limited are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at Empired Limited with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

We think many shareholders would be underwhelmed with the business growth over the last three years. Arguably worse, investors are without a positive return for the last three years. Some might well form the view that the CEO is paid too generously! CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Empired (free visualization of insider trades).