Stock Analysis

Do Plastika Kritis's (ATH:PLAKR) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?

ATSE:PLAKR
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It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses.

If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in Plastika Kritis (ATH:PLAKR). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour.

See our latest analysis for Plastika Kritis

Plastika Kritis's Earnings Per Share Are Growing.

As one of my mentors once told me, share price follows earnings per share (EPS). Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. We can see that in the last three years Plastika Kritis grew its EPS by 16% per year. That growth rate is fairly good, assuming the company can keep it up.

I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. Plastika Kritis shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 15% to 18%, and revenue is growing. That's great to see, on both counts.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

earnings-and-revenue-history
ATSE:PLAKR Earnings and Revenue History January 27th 2021

While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check Plastika Kritis's balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.

Are Plastika Kritis Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Many consider high insider ownership to be a strong sign of alignment between the leaders of a company and the ordinary shareholders. So as you can imagine, the fact that Plastika Kritis insiders own a significant number of shares certainly appeals to me. In fact, they own 53% of the company, so they will share in the same delights and challenges experienced by the ordinary shareholders. To me this is a good sign because it suggests they will be incentivised to build value for shareholders over the long term. At the current share price, that insider holding is worth a whopping €216m. That means they have plenty of their own capital riding on the performance of the business!

Is Plastika Kritis Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of Plastika Kritis is that it is growing profits. If that's not enough on its own, there is also the rather notable levels of insider ownership. The combination sparks joy for me, so I'd consider keeping the company on a watchlist. We should say that we've discovered 1 warning sign for Plastika Kritis that you should be aware of before investing here.

Although Plastika Kritis certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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