Paul Zwillenberg became the CEO of Daily Mail and General Trust plc (LON:DMGT) in 2016. 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 - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
Check out our latest analysis for Daily Mail and General Trust
How Does Paul Zwillenberg's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Daily Mail and General Trust plc is worth UK£1.9b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as UK£1.9m for the year to September 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at UK£750k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from UK£813m to UK£2.6b, and the median CEO total compensation was UK£1.5m.
That means Paul Zwillenberg receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a company that size. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Daily Mail and General Trust has changed from year to year.
Is Daily Mail and General Trust plc Growing?
Daily Mail and General Trust plc has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 55% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop 7.3% over the last year.
Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has Daily Mail and General Trust plc Been A Good Investment?
Daily Mail and General Trust plc has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 20% over three years. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary...
Paul Zwillenberg is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.
We would wish for better returns (whether dividends or capital gains) but we do admire the solid EPS growth on show here. As a result of these considerations, I would suggest the CEO pay is reasonable. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Daily Mail and General Trust shares with their own money (free access).