Assessing Hotung Investment Holdings Limited’s (SGX:BLS) past track record of performance is a valuable exercise for investors. It enables us to reflect on whether the company has met or exceed expectations, which is a great indicator for future performance. Today I will assess BLS’s recent performance announced on 30 September 2017 and evaluate these figures to its longer term trend and industry movements. See our latest analysis for Hotung Investment Holdings

Did BLS perform better than its track record and industry?

For the most up-to-date info, I use data from the most recent 12 months, which either annualizes the most recent 6-month earnings update, or in some cases, the most recent annual report is already the latest available financial data. This allows me to examine different companies on a more comparable basis, using new information. For Hotung Investment Holdings, its latest earnings (trailing twelve month) is NT$377.7M, which, in comparison to the previous year’s figure, Given that these figures may be fairly myopic, I have created an annualized five-year value for Hotung Investment Holdings’s net income, which stands at NT$344.4M. This suggests that, generally, Hotung Investment Holdings has been able to increase its earnings over the last few years.

What’s the driver of this growth? Let’s take a look at whether it is solely due to industry tailwinds, or if Hotung Investment Holdings has seen some company-specific growth. Over the past couple of years, although bottom-line growth has seen a waning, top-line growth has dropped much faster, leading to a margin expansion and Hotung Investment Holdings still maintaining profitability. Looking at growth from a sector-level, the SG capital markets industry has been growing, albeit, at a unexciting single-digit rate of 3.25% over the previous twelve months, and a flatter -1.86% over the previous five years. This means that whatever headwind the industry is facing, it’s hitting Hotung Investment Holdings harder than its peers.

What does this mean?

Though Hotung Investment Holdings’s past data is helpful, it is only one aspect of my investment thesis. Companies that have performed well in the past, such as Hotung Investment Holdings gives investors conviction. However, the next step would be to assess whether the future looks as optimistic. I suggest you continue to research Hotung Investment Holdings to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for BLS’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for BLS’s outlook.