Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.
So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like SCC Holdings Berhad (KLSE:SCC). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.
If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. To the delight of shareholders, SCC Holdings Berhad has achieved impressive annual EPS growth of 37%, compound, over the last three years. While that sort of growth rate isn't sustainable for long, it certainly catches the eye of prospective investors.
One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. SCC Holdings Berhad shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 3.7% to 9.9%, and revenue is growing. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.
The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.
See our latest analysis for SCC Holdings Berhad
SCC Holdings Berhad isn't a huge company, given its market capitalisation of RM32m. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.
Seeing insiders owning a large portion of the shares on issue is often a good sign. Their incentives will be aligned with the investors and there's less of a probability in a sudden sell-off that would impact the share price. So those who are interested in SCC Holdings Berhad will be delighted to know that insiders have shown their belief, holding a large proportion of the company's shares. To be exact, company insiders hold 73% of the company, so their decisions have a significant impact on their investments. This should be seen as a good thing, as it means insiders have a personal interest in delivering the best outcomes for shareholders. Valued at only RM32m SCC Holdings Berhad is really small for a listed company. That means insiders only have RM24m worth of shares, despite the large proportional holding. That might not be a huge sum but it should be enough to keep insiders motivated!
SCC Holdings Berhad's earnings per share have been soaring, with growth rates sky high. That EPS growth certainly is attention grabbing, and the large insider ownership only serves to further stoke our interest. At times fast EPS growth is a sign the business has reached an inflection point, so there's a potential opportunity to be had here. Based on the sum of its parts, we definitely think its worth watching SCC Holdings Berhad very closely. You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for SCC Holdings Berhad you should be aware of, and 2 of them are potentially serious.
There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a tailored list of Malaysian companies which have demonstrated growth backed by significant insider holdings.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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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.