Increases to CEO Compensation Might Be Put On Hold For Now at Hong Leong Asia Ltd. (SGX:H22)

In This Article:

Key Insights

  • Hong Leong Asia's Annual General Meeting to take place on 25th of April

  • Salary of S$595.6k is part of CEO Stephen Ho's total remuneration

  • The total compensation is 748% higher than the average for the industry

  • Hong Leong Asia's EPS grew by 13% over the past three years while total shareholder loss over the past three years was 31%

The underwhelming share price performance of Hong Leong Asia Ltd. (SGX:H22) in the past three years would have disappointed many shareholders. Despite positive EPS growth in the past few years, the share price hasn't tracked the fundamental performance of the company. The AGM coming up on the 25th of April could be an opportunity for shareholders to bring these concerns to the board's attention. Voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters could also be a way to influence management. We discuss below why we think shareholders should be cautious of approving a raise for the CEO at the moment.

See our latest analysis for Hong Leong Asia

How Does Total Compensation For Stephen Ho Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that Hong Leong Asia Ltd. has a market capitalization of S$449m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of S$1.3m for the year to December 2023. This means that the compensation hasn't changed much from last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at S$596k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the Singaporean Machinery industry with market capitalizations between S$272m and S$1.1b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was S$150k. Hence, we can conclude that Stephen Ho is remunerated higher than the industry median.

Component

2023

2022

Proportion (2023)

Salary

S$596k

S$577k

47%

Other

S$674k

S$706k

53%

Total Compensation

S$1.3m

S$1.3m

100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 85% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 15% of the pie. Hong Leong Asia sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall 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

Hong Leong Asia Ltd.'s Growth

Hong Leong Asia Ltd.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 13% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 5.2%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..