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P. MacFarlane has been the CEO of Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. (TSE:CET) since 2013. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. 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 Cathedral Energy Services

How Does P. MacFarlane's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. has a market capitalization of CA$19m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth CA$425k. (This figure is for the year to December 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at CA$344k. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below CA$261m. The median CEO total compensation in that group is CA$120k.

As you can see, P. MacFarlane is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. is paying too much. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Cathedral Energy Services has changed over time.

Is Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. Growing?

Over the last three years Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 14% per year (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 6.0% over last year.

Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. The modest increase in revenue in the last year isn't enough to make me overlook the disappointing change in earnings per share. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 51% over three years, some Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. 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.

We think many shareholders would be underwhelmed with the business growth over the last three years.

Just as bad, share price gains for investors have failed to materialize, over the same period. In our opinion the CEO might be paid too generously! So you may want to check if insiders are buying Cathedral Energy Services shares with their own money (free access).

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Cathedral Energy Services, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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.