Stock Analysis

Estimating The Fair Value Of BlueFocus Intelligent Communications Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300058)

SZSE:300058
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Key Insights

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of BlueFocus Intelligent Communications Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300058) 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. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for BlueFocus Intelligent Communications Group

The Model

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. 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.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034
Levered FCF (CN¥, Millions) -CN¥124.0m CN¥276.0m CN¥394.1m CN¥515.5m CN¥631.2m CN¥735.9m CN¥827.7m CN¥907.1m CN¥976.0m CN¥1.04b
Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 42.78% Est @ 30.82% Est @ 22.44% Est @ 16.58% Est @ 12.48% Est @ 9.60% Est @ 7.59% Est @ 6.18%
Present Value (CN¥, Millions) Discounted @ 8.2% -CN¥115 CN¥236 CN¥311 CN¥377 CN¥426 CN¥460 CN¥478 CN¥484 CN¥482 CN¥473

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN¥3.6b

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.9%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2034 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CN¥1.0b× (1 + 2.9%) ÷ (8.2%– 2.9%) = CN¥20b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN¥20b÷ ( 1 + 8.2%)10= CN¥9.3b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CN¥13b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of CN¥5.5, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. 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
SZSE:300058 Discounted Cash Flow July 2nd 2024

The 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. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. 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 BlueFocus Intelligent Communications Group 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 8.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.934. 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 BlueFocus Intelligent Communications Group

Strength
  • Debt is well covered by earnings.
Weakness
  • Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Media market.
Opportunity
  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Chinese market.
  • Good value based on P/S ratio compared to estimated Fair P/S ratio.
Threat
  • Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.
  • Annual revenue is forecast to grow slower than the Chinese market.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For BlueFocus Intelligent Communications Group, we've put together three additional factors you should further research:

  1. Financial Health: Does 300058 have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.
  2. Future Earnings: How does 300058's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
  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. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the SZSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Valuation is complex, but we're here to simplify it.

Discover if BlueFocus Intelligent Communications Group might be undervalued or overvalued with our detailed analysis, featuring fair value estimates, potential risks, dividends, insider trades, and its financial condition.

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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.