New Forecasts: Here's What Analysts Think The Future Holds For Sylvania Platinum Limited (LON:SLP)

Sylvania Platinum Limited (LON:SLP) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the analysts making substantial upgrades to this year's forecasts. The consensus statutory numbers for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) increased, with their view clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects. The market may be pricing in some blue sky too, with the share price gaining 11% to UK£0.74 in the last 7 days. Could this upgrade be enough to drive the stock even higher?

Following the upgrade, the consensus from dual analysts covering Sylvania Platinum is for revenues of US$147m in 2024, implying a chunky 9.4% decline in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are supposed to fall 13% to US$0.21 in the same period. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$129m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.16 in 2024. So we can see there's been a pretty clear increase in analyst sentiment in recent times, with both revenues and earnings per share receiving a decent lift in the latest estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for Sylvania Platinum

Despite these upgrades, the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of AU$2.39, suggesting that the higher estimates are not likely to have a long term impact on what the stock is worth.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with a forecast 9.4% annualised revenue decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 25% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 0.8% annually for the foreseeable future. It's pretty clear that Sylvania Platinum's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, with improved earnings power expected for this year. Pleasantly, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow slower than the wider market. The lack of change in the price target is puzzling, but with a serious upgrade to this year's earnings expectations, it might be time to take another look at Sylvania Platinum.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At least one analyst has provided forecasts out to 2025, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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.