Stock Analysis

A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of Cetc Potevio Science&Technology Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002544)

SZSE:002544
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Key Insights

  • The projected fair value for Cetc Potevio Science&TechnologyLtd is CN¥20.20 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
  • Current share price of CN¥23.39 suggests Cetc Potevio Science&TechnologyLtd is potentially trading close to its fair value
  • Cetc Potevio Science&TechnologyLtd's peers seem to be trading at a higher premium to fair value based onthe industry average of -325%

Does the March share price for Cetc Potevio Science&Technology Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002544) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Cetc Potevio Science&TechnologyLtd

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 start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last 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, 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 (CN¥, Millions) CN¥189.2m CN¥301.9m CN¥430.4m CN¥562.6m CN¥688.4m CN¥802.3m CN¥902.3m CN¥988.9m CN¥1.06b CN¥1.13b
Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 83.86% Est @ 59.59% Est @ 42.59% Est @ 30.70% Est @ 22.37% Est @ 16.54% Est @ 12.46% Est @ 9.60% Est @ 7.61% Est @ 6.21%
Present Value (CN¥, Millions) Discounted @ 8.4% CN¥175 CN¥257 CN¥338 CN¥408 CN¥461 CN¥495 CN¥514 CN¥520 CN¥516 CN¥506

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN¥4.2b

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond 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 8.4%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CN¥1.1b× (1 + 2.9%) ÷ (8.4%– 2.9%) = CN¥21b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN¥21b÷ ( 1 + 8.4%)10= CN¥9.6b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is CN¥14b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CN¥23.4, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf
SZSE:002544 Discounted Cash Flow March 25th 2024

The Assumptions

Now 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 Cetc Potevio Science&TechnologyLtd 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 8.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.964. 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 Cetc Potevio Science&TechnologyLtd

Strength
  • Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.
  • Debt is not viewed as a risk.
Weakness
  • Earnings growth over the past year is below its 5-year average.
  • Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Communications market.
  • Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.
Opportunity
  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Chinese market.
Threat
  • Dividends are not covered by cash flow.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation 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. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Cetc Potevio Science&TechnologyLtd, we've compiled three essential factors you should further examine:

  1. Risks: As an example, we've found 2 warning signs for Cetc Potevio Science&TechnologyLtd that you need to consider before investing here.
  2. Future Earnings: How does 002544'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 High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

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.

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Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.