Yahoo Finance How Much Is Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. (CVE:DWS) CEO Getting Paid?
This article will reflect on the compensation paid to J. Souter who has served as CEO of Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. (CVE:DWS) since 2013. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits.
View our latest analysis for Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits
How Does Total Compensation For J. Souter Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?
According to our data, Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. has a market capitalization of CA$31m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth CA$334k over the year to March 2020. That's a notable increase of 15% on last year. In particular, the salary of CA$220.0k, makes up a huge portion of the total compensation being paid to the CEO.
In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations under CA$255m, the reported median total CEO compensation was CA$334k. So it looks like Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits compensates J. Souter in line with the median for the industry. What's more, J. Souter holds CA$213k worth of shares in the company in their own name.
Component | 2020 | 2019 | Proportion (2020) |
Salary | CA$220k | CA$220k | 66% |
Other | CA$114k | CA$71k | 34% |
Total Compensation | CA$334k | CA$291k | 100% |
On an industry level, roughly 39% of total compensation represents salary and 61% is other remuneration. Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits pays out 66% of remuneration in the form of a salary, significantly higher than the industry average. If total compensation veers towards salary, it suggests that the variable portion - which is generally tied to performance, is lower.
Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc.'s Growth
Over the last three years, Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. has shrunk its earnings per share by 62% per year. It saw its revenue drop 3.5% over the last year.
Overall this is not a very positive result for shareholders. And the impression is worse when you consider revenue is down year-on-year. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. 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 Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Since shareholders would have lost about 38% over three years, some Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.
To Conclude...
As previously discussed, J. is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. On the other hand, EPS growth and total shareholder return have been negative for the last three years. It's tough to call out the compensation as inappropriate, but shareholders might not favor a raise before company performance improves.
CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. That's why we did some digging and identified 3 warning signs for Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits that you should be aware of before investing.
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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