Is NetLink NBN Trust (SGX:CJLU) Trading At A 46% Discount?

Key Insights

• Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, NetLink NBN Trust fair value estimate is S$1.57

• Current share price of S$0.85 suggests NetLink NBN Trust is potentially 46% undervalued

• The S$0.98 analyst price target for CJLU is 38% less than our estimate of fair value

How far off is NetLink NBN Trust (SGX:CJLU) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

Check out our latest analysis for NetLink NBN Trust

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. 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.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033
Levered FCF (SGD, Millions)	S$238.2m	S$205.3m	S$218.7m	S$229.0m	S$237.9m	S$245.9m	S$253.2m	S$260.0m	S$266.5m	S$272.8m
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x1	Analyst x2	Analyst x2	Est @ 4.70%	Est @ 3.91%	Est @ 3.35%	Est @ 2.96%	Est @ 2.69%	Est @ 2.50%	Est @ 2.36%
Present Value (SGD, Millions) Discounted @ 5.7%	S$225	S$184	S$185	S$183	S$180	S$176	S$171	S$166	S$161	S$156

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = S$1.8b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. 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 (2.1%) 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 5.7%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₃ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = S$273m× (1 + 2.1%) ÷ (5.7%– 2.1%) = S$7.6b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= S$7.6b÷ ( 1 + 5.7%)¹⁰= S$4.3b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is S$6.1b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of S$0.8, the company appears quite good value at a 46% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. 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 NetLink NBN Trust 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 5.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. 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.

SWOT Analysis for NetLink NBN Trust

Strength

• Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

• Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Telecom industry.

• Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Telecom market.

Opportunity

• Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

• Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

• Dividends are not covered by earnings and cashflows.

• Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Singaporean market.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For NetLink NBN Trust, there are three essential elements you should consider:

1. Risks: For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for NetLink NBN Trust that you should be aware of before investing here.

2. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for CJLU's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors.

3. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Singaporean 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.