In 2015 Hans Theiß was appointed CEO of SMT Scharf AG (ETR:S4A). This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. 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 method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

View our latest analysis for SMT Scharf

How Does Hans Theiß's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that SMT Scharf AG has a market cap of €45m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of €440k for the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at €268k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below €177m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be €384k.

So Hans Theiß is paid around the average of the companies we looked at. 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 SMT Scharf has changed from year to year.

Is SMT Scharf AG Growing?

On average over the last three years, SMT Scharf AG has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 34% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 13% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's a real positive to see this sort of growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has SMT Scharf AG Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 30% over three years, some SMT Scharf AG shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

Hans Theiß is paid around what is normal for the leaders of comparable size companies.

We like that the company is growing EPS, but we find the returns over the last three years to be lacking. Considering the the positives we don't think the CEO pays is too high, but it's certainly hard to argue it is too low. Shareholders may want to check for free if SMT Scharf insiders are buying or selling shares.

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.

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.