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. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.
So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Nordic Group (SGX:MR7). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.
See our latest analysis for Nordic Group
How Quickly Is Nordic Group Increasing Earnings Per Share?
The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. So it makes sense that experienced investors pay close attention to company EPS when undertaking investment research. Shareholders will be happy to know that Nordic Group's EPS has grown 30% each year, compound, over three years. As a general rule, we'd say that if a company can keep up that sort of growth, shareholders will be beaming.
It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. The good news is that Nordic Group is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 3.1 percentage points to 14%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts.
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.
Nordic Group isn't a huge company, given its market capitalisation of S$180m. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.
Are Nordic Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Insider interest in a company always sparks a bit of intrigue and many investors are on the lookout for companies where insiders are putting their money where their mouth is. Because often, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. However, insiders are sometimes wrong, and we don't know the exact thinking behind their acquisitions.
We note that Nordic Group insiders spent S$134k on stock, over the last year; in contrast, we didn't see any selling. That paints the company in a nice light, as it signals that its leaders are feeling confident in where the company is heading. It is also worth noting that it was Executive Chairman Yeh Hong Chang who made the biggest single purchase, worth S$55k, paying S$0.48 per share.