Pentamaster Corporation Berhad (KLSE:PENTA) last week reported its latest annual results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of RM601m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 7.2% to hit RM0.12 per share. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
See our latest analysis for Pentamaster Corporation Berhad
After the latest results, the ten analysts covering Pentamaster Corporation Berhad are now predicting revenues of RM696.0m in 2023. If met, this would reflect a decent 16% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to surge 33% to RM0.15. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of RM714.6m and earnings per share (EPS) of RM0.16 in 2023. So it looks like the analysts have become a bit less optimistic after the latest results announcement, with revenues expected to fall even as the company is supposed to maintain EPS.
The consensus has reconfirmed its price target of RM5.20, showing that the analysts don't expect weaker sales expectations next year to have a material impact on Pentamaster Corporation Berhad's market value. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. The most optimistic Pentamaster Corporation Berhad analyst has a price target of RM6.40 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at RM4.00. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Pentamaster Corporation Berhad's past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that Pentamaster Corporation Berhad's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 16% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2023 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 9.2% p.a. over the past five years. Other similar companies in the industry (with analyst coverage) are also forecast to grow their revenue at 13% per year. Pentamaster Corporation Berhad is expected to grow at about the same rate as its industry, so it's not clear that we can draw any conclusions from its growth relative to competitors.