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What Did Helix Energy Solutions Group's (NYSE:HLX) CEO Take Home Last Year?

Owen Kratz became the CEO of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) in 2008, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also assess whether Helix Energy Solutions Group pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for Helix Energy Solutions Group

Comparing Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.'s CEO Compensation With the industry

Our data indicates that Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$573m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$5.4m for the year to December 2019. That's a slightly lower by 7.4% over the previous year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$700k.

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On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between US$200m and US$800m, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$3.9m. This suggests that Owen Kratz is paid more than the median for the industry. What's more, Owen Kratz holds US$27m worth of shares in the company in their own name, indicating that they have a lot of skin in the game.

Component

2019

2018

Proportion (2019)

Salary

US$700k

US$700k

13%

Other

US$4.7m

US$5.1m

87%

Total Compensation

US$5.4m

US$5.8m

100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 21% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 79% of the pie. It's interesting to note that Helix Energy Solutions Group allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

ceo-compensation
ceo-compensation

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.'s Growth

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 74% per year over the last three years. It achieved revenue growth of 3.2% over the last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 37% over three years, some Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

As previously discussed, Owen is compensated more than what is normal for CEOs of companies of similar size, and which belong to the same industry. But the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, but we cannot say the same about the uninspiring shareholder returns (over the last three years). Although we'd stop short of calling it inappropriate, we think Owen is earning a very handsome sum.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Helix Energy Solutions Group that you should be aware of before investing.

Switching gears from Helix Energy Solutions Group, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.