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Zhengang Suo became the CEO of CITIC Resources Holdings Limited (HKG:1205) in 1970. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. 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. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

View our latest analysis for CITIC Resources Holdings

How Does Zhengang Suo's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, CITIC Resources Holdings Limited has a market capitalization of HK$5.0b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth HK$39m. (This figure is for the year to December 2018). That's a notable increase of 201% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at HK$4.6m. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from HK$3.1b to HK$13b, and the median CEO total compensation was HK$3.3m.

Thus we can conclude that Zhengang Suo receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to CITIC Resources Holdings Limited. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at CITIC Resources Holdings, below.

Is CITIC Resources Holdings Limited Growing?

CITIC Resources Holdings Limited has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 125% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 23%.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's a real positive to see this sort of growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has CITIC Resources Holdings Limited Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 5.6% over three years, many shareholders in CITIC Resources Holdings Limited are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at CITIC Resources Holdings Limited with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. 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. However, the returns to investors are far less impressive, over the same period. This doesn't look great when you consider CEO remuneration is up on last year. One might thus conclude that it would be better if the company waited until growth is reflected in the share price, before increasing CEO compensation. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling CITIC Resources Holdings (free visualization of insider trades).

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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.