Here's Why We Think Lanakam (ATH:LANAC) Might Deserve Your Attention Today

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

If this kind of company isn't your style, you like companies that generate revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in Lanakam (ATH:LANAC). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

View our latest analysis for Lanakam

Lanakam's Improving Profits

In the last three years Lanakam's earnings per share took off; so much so that it's a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. In impressive fashion, Lanakam's EPS grew from €0.04 to €0.087, over the previous 12 months. It's a rarity to see 119% year-on-year growth like that.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. The good news is that Lanakam is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 9.6 percentage points to 1.4%, over the last year. Both of which are great metrics to check off for potential growth.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

Since Lanakam is no giant, with a market capitalisation of €5.6m, you should definitely check its cash and debt before getting too excited about its prospects.

Are Lanakam Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's a good habit to check into a company's remuneration policies to ensure that the CEO and management team aren't putting their own interests before that of the shareholder with excessive salary packages. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Lanakam, with market caps under €184m is around €112k.

The Lanakam CEO received total compensation of only €19k in the year to December 2022. You could consider this pay as somewhat symbolic, which suggests the CEO does not need a lot of compensation to stay motivated. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Is Lanakam Worth Keeping An Eye On?

Lanakam's earnings have taken off in quite an impressive fashion. Such fast EPS growth prompts the question: has the business reached an inflection point? What's more, the fact that the CEO's compensation is quite reasonable is a sign that the company is conscious of excessive spending. So Lanakam looks like it could be a good quality growth stock, at first glance. That's worth watching. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for Lanakam (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you need to be mindful of.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a tailored list of Greek companies which have demonstrated growth backed by significant insider holdings.

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. 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.