Virbac SA Just Beat Revenue Estimates By 6.0%

It's been a good week for Virbac SA (EPA:VIRP) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest half-yearly results, and the shares gained 7.8% to €387. Results overall were respectable, with statutory earnings of €14.38 per share roughly in line with what the analysts had forecast. Revenues of €703m came in 6.0% ahead of analyst predictions. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

See our latest analysis for Virbac

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Virbac's nine analysts is for revenues of €1.41b in 2024. This would reflect a satisfactory 5.1% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to increase 7.5% to €18.10. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of €1.41b and earnings per share (EPS) of €17.91 in 2024. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of €395, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Virbac analyst has a price target of €432 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €365. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that Virbac is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. It's clear from the latest estimates that Virbac's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 10% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 8.3% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.2% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Virbac to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have forecasts for Virbac going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You can also see our analysis of Virbac's Board and CEO remuneration and experience, and whether company insiders have been buying stock.

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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.