In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co.,Ltd (SZSE:000792) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!
Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.
See our latest analysis for Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd
We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:
2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | 2034 | |
Levered FCF (CN¥, Millions) | CN¥5.41b | CN¥6.48b | CN¥6.13b | CN¥5.94b | CN¥5.87b | CN¥5.87b | CN¥5.92b | CN¥6.00b | CN¥6.11b | CN¥6.24b |
Growth Rate Estimate Source | Analyst x1 | Analyst x1 | Est @ -5.45% | Est @ -2.98% | Est @ -1.24% | Est @ -0.03% | Est @ 0.82% | Est @ 1.41% | Est @ 1.83% | Est @ 2.12% |
Present Value (CN¥, Millions) Discounted @ 7.6% | CN¥5.0k | CN¥5.6k | CN¥4.9k | CN¥4.4k | CN¥4.1k | CN¥3.8k | CN¥3.5k | CN¥3.3k | CN¥3.2k | CN¥3.0k |
("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN¥41b
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.8%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.6%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2034 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CN¥6.2b× (1 + 2.8%) ÷ (7.6%– 2.8%) = CN¥134b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN¥134b÷ ( 1 + 7.6%)10= CN¥64b
The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CN¥105b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CN¥18.2, the company appears about fair value at a 7.3% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.
Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.962. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd, we've compiled three further elements you should look at:
PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Chinese stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.
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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.