Yahoo Finance Do MESB Berhad's (KLSE:MESB) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?
For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.
Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like MESB Berhad (KLSE:MESB). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.
Check out our latest analysis for MESB Berhad
MESB Berhad's Improving Profits
Even when EPS earnings per share (EPS) growth is unexceptional, company value can be created if this rate is sustained each year. So it's easy to see why many investors focus in on EPS growth. Outstandingly, MESB Berhad's EPS shot from RM0.031 to RM0.068, over the last year. It's a rarity to see 115% year-on-year growth like that. The best case scenario? That the business has hit a true inflection point.
Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. The good news is that MESB Berhad is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 4.1 percentage points to 6.0%, over the last year. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.
Since MESB Berhad is no giant, with a market capitalisation of RM68m, you should definitely check its cash and debt before getting too excited about its prospects.
Are MESB Berhad Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Many consider high insider ownership to be a strong sign of alignment between the leaders of a company and the ordinary shareholders. So as you can imagine, the fact that MESB Berhad insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 52% of the company, so they will share in the same delights and challenges experienced by the ordinary shareholders. Intuition will tell you this is a good sign because it suggests they will be incentivised to build value for shareholders over the long term. Valued at only RM68m MESB Berhad is really small for a listed company. That means insiders only have RM35m worth of shares, despite the large proportional holding. That's not a huge stake in absolute terms, but it should help keep insiders aligned with other shareholders.
It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but shareholders may be wondering if remuneration policies are in their best interest. Our quick analysis into CEO remuneration would seem to indicate they are. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like MESB Berhad with market caps under RM852m is about RM495k.
The CEO of MESB Berhad was paid just RM22k in total compensation for the year ending June 2022. This total may indicate that the CEO is sacrificing take home pay for performance-based benefits, ensuring that their motivations are synonymous with strong company results. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.
Is MESB Berhad Worth Keeping An Eye On?
MESB Berhad's earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. An added bonus for those interested is that management hold a heap of stock and the CEO pay is quite reasonable, illustrating good cash management. The drastic earnings growth indicates the business is going from strength to strength. Hopefully a trend that continues well into the future. Big growth can make big winners, so the writing on the wall tells us that MESB Berhad is worth considering carefully. It is worth noting though that we have found 2 warning signs for MESB Berhad that you need to take into consideration.
The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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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