Tom Franks became the CEO of Camellia Plc (LON:CAM) in 2015, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also assess whether Camellia pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.
See our latest analysis for Camellia
Comparing Camellia Plc's CEO Compensation With the industry
According to our data, Camellia Plc has a market capitalization of UK£200m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK£637k over the year to December 2019. That's just a smallish increase of 3.3% on last year. In particular, the salary of UK£594.0k, makes up a huge portion of the total compensation being paid to the CEO.
In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from UK£74m to UK£295m, the reported median CEO total compensation was UK£508k. From this we gather that Tom Franks is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry.
| Component | 2019 | 2018 | Proportion (2019) |
| Salary | UK£594k | UK£550k | 93% |
| Other | UK£43k | UK£66k | 7% |
| Total Compensation | UK£637k | UK£616k | 100% |
Speaking on an industry level, nearly 71% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 29% is other remuneration. According to our research, Camellia has allocated a higher percentage of pay to salary in comparison to the wider industry. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.
Camellia Plc's Growth
Camellia Plc has reduced its earnings per share by 6.8% a year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is down 3.5%.
Few shareholders would be pleased to read that EPS have declined. This is compounded by the fact revenue is actually down on last year. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..
Has Camellia Plc Been A Good Investment?
Since shareholders would have lost about 36% over three years, some Camellia Plc investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.
To Conclude...
As previously discussed, Tom is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. In the meantime, the company has reported declining EPS growth and shareholder returns over the last three years. It's tough to call out the compensation as inappropriate, but shareholders might not favor a raise before company performance improves.