Julius Lau has been the CEO of Lai Sun Development Company Limited (HKG:488) since 2005. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Then we’ll look at a snap shot of the business growth. 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.

See our latest analysis for Lai Sun Development

Want to help shape the future of investing tools and platforms? Take the survey and be part of one of the most advanced studies of stock market investors to date.

How Does Julius Lau’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Lai Sun Development Company Limited is worth HK$7.8b, and total annual CEO compensation is HK$5.0m. (This figure is for the year to 2018). That’s less than last year. It is worth noting that the CEO compensation consists almost entirely of the salary, worth HK$4.8m. We examined companies with market caps from HK$3.1b to HK$13b, and discovered that the median CEO compensation of that group was HK$3.3m.

It would therefore appear that Lai Sun Development Company Limited pays Julius Lau more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn’t mean the remuneration 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 Lai Sun Development, below.

Is Lai Sun Development Company Limited Growing?

On average over the last three years, Lai Sun Development Company Limited has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 8.6% each year (using a line of best fit). Revenue was pretty flat on last year.

I generally like to see a little revenue growth, but it is good to see EPS growth. It’s hard to reach a conclusion about business performance right now. This may be one to watch.

It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Lai Sun Development Company Limited Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 190% over three years, Lai Sun Development Company Limited has done well by shareholders. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary…

We compared total CEO remuneration at Lai Sun Development Company Limited with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

Over the last three years returns to investors have been great, though we might have liked stronger business growth. Considering this fine result for investors, we daresay the CEO compensation might be apt. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Lai Sun Development shares (free trial).

Or you might prefer this data-rich interactive visualization of historic revenue and earnings.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.