Yahoo Finance What Did Oil Search Limited's (ASX:OSH) CEO Take Home Last Year?
Peter Botten became the CEO of Oil Search Limited (ASX:OSH) in 1994. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. 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.
See our latest analysis for Oil Search
How Does Peter Botten's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that Oil Search Limited has a market cap of AU$11b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$5.9m for the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$1.7m. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of US$4.0b to US$12b. The median total CEO compensation was US$2.8m.
It would therefore appear that Oil Search Limited pays Peter Botten 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 Oil Search, below.
Is Oil Search Limited Growing?
Over the last three years Oil Search Limited has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 69% per year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 32% over last year.
This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has Oil Search Limited Been A Good Investment?
Oil Search Limited has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 8.0%, over three years. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.
In Summary...
We compared total CEO remuneration at Oil Search Limited with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. Looking at the same time period, we think that the shareholder returns are respectable. While it may be worth researching further, we don't see a problem with the CEO pay, given the good EPS growth. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Oil Search shares with their own money (free access).
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
