Ken Taylor became the CEO of Living Cell Technologies Limited (ASX:LCT) in 2014. 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. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

View our latest analysis for Living Cell Technologies

How Does Ken Taylor's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Living Cell Technologies Limited is worth AU$10m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as AU$390k for the year to June 2019. Notably, the salary of AU$381k is the vast majority of the CEO compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under AU$290m, and the median CEO total compensation was AU$380k.

That means Ken Taylor 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.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Living Cell Technologies, below.

Is Living Cell Technologies Limited Growing?

Over the last three years Living Cell Technologies Limited has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 44% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue changed by just 0.3%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's nice to see a little revenue growth, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. We don't have analyst forecasts, but shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Living Cell Technologies Limited Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 80%, Living Cell Technologies Limited would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

Remuneration for Ken Taylor is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .

We think that the EPS growth is very pleasing, but it's disappointing to see negative shareholder returns over three years. Considering the improvement in earnings per share, one could argue that the CEO pay is appropriate, albeit not too low. Shareholders may want to check for free if Living Cell Technologies insiders are buying or selling shares.

Important note: Living Cell Technologies may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.