Derek Wong has been the CEO of Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited (HKG:440) since 2002. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Dah Sing Financial Holdings

How Does Derek Wong's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited has a market cap of HK$9.6b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of HK$12m for the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at HK$8.4m. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from HK$7.8b to HK$25b, and the median CEO total compensation was HK$4.4m.

Thus we can conclude that Derek Wong receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. 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 Dah Sing Financial Holdings has changed from year to year.

Is Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited Growing?

On average over the last three years, Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 8.5% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 12% over the last year.

I would argue that the modest growth in revenue is a notable positive. And, while modest, the earnings per share growth is noticeable. So while performance isn't amazing, we think it really does seem quite respectable. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 34% over three years, some Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.