Yahoo Finance Does ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited’s (SGX:C52) Past Performance Indicate A Weaker Future?
When ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited (SGX:C52) released its most recent earnings update (31 March 2018), I compared it against two factor: its historical earnings track record, and the performance of its industry peers on average. Being able to interpret how well ComfortDelGro has done so far requires weighing its performance against a benchmark, rather than looking at a standalone number at a point in time. In this article, I’ve summarized the key takeaways on how I see C52 has performed. See our latest analysis for ComfortDelGro
Commentary On C52’s Past Performance
I look at the ‘latest twelve-month’ data, which annualizes the most recent half-year data, or in some cases, the latest annual report is already the most recent financial year data. This technique allows me to analyze different stocks on a more comparable basis, using new information. For ComfortDelGro, its latest earnings (trailing twelve month) is S$285.30M, which, relative to last year’s figure, has fallen by -12.54%. Given that these figures may be fairly nearsighted, I’ve created an annualized five-year value for ComfortDelGro’s net income, which stands at S$278.38M This suggests that while earnings declined against the previous year, over the longer term, ComfortDelGro’s earnings have been growing on average.
What’s the driver of this growth? Let’s see whether it is only due to an industry uplift, or if ComfortDelGro has experienced some company-specific growth. Over the last few years, ComfortDelGro expanded its bottom line faster than revenue by efficiently controlling its costs. This has caused a margin expansion and profitability over time. Looking at growth from a sector-level, the SG transportation industry has been growing its average earnings by double-digit 29.63% in the past year, and 11.20% over the previous five years. This means that whatever tailwind the industry is profiting from, ComfortDelGro has not been able to realize the gains unlike its average peer.
What does this mean?
While past data is useful, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Companies that are profitable, but have volatile earnings, can have many factors impacting its business. You should continue to research ComfortDelGro to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for C52’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for C52’s outlook.
Financial Health: Is C52’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 March 2018. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
