Our Take On Applegreen's (LON:APGN) CEO Salary

The CEO of Applegreen plc (LON:APGN) is Bob Etchingham, and this article examines the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Applegreen.

View our latest analysis for Applegreen

How Does Total Compensation For Bob Etchingham Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Applegreen plc has a market capitalization of UK£348m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as €526k for the year to December 2019. We note that's a small decrease of 7.4% on last year. Notably, the salary which is €380.0k, represents most of the total compensation being paid.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between UK£152m and UK£609m had a median total CEO compensation of €526k. From this we gather that Bob Etchingham is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry.

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 72% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 28% is other remuneration. Our data reveals that Applegreen allocates salary more or less in line with the wider market. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

A Look at Applegreen plc's Growth Numbers

Over the last three years, Applegreen plc has shrunk its earnings per share by 49% per year. Its revenue is up 1.7% over the last year.

The decline in EPS is a bit concerning. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the EPS is down. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Applegreen plc Been A Good Investment?

Given the total shareholder loss of 43% over three years, many shareholders in Applegreen plc are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

As we noted earlier, Applegreen pays its CEO in line with similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. On the other hand, EPS growth and total shareholder return have been negative for the last three years. Considering overall performance, shareholders will likely hold off support for a raise until results improve.

It is always advisable to analyse CEO pay, along with performing a thorough analysis of the company's key performance areas. In our study, we found 3 warning signs for Applegreen you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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