Here's Why Metallurgical Corporation of China (HKG:1618) Has Caught The Eye Of Investors

Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Metallurgical Corporation of China (HKG:1618). 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 Metallurgical Corporation of China

Metallurgical Corporation of China's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. It certainly is nice to see that Metallurgical Corporation of China has managed to grow EPS by 21% per year over three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away satisfied.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. EBIT margins for Metallurgical Corporation of China remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 18% to CN¥638b. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for Metallurgical Corporation of China's future EPS 100% free.

Are Metallurgical Corporation of China Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

As a general rule, it's worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. For companies with market capitalisations between CN¥29b and CN¥88b, like Metallurgical Corporation of China, the median CEO pay is around CN¥6.7m.

The Metallurgical Corporation of China CEO received total compensation of just CN¥2.0m in the year to December 2022. First impressions seem to indicate a compensation policy that is favourable to shareholders. 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. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Should You Add Metallurgical Corporation of China To Your Watchlist?

If you believe that share price follows earnings per share you should definitely be delving further into Metallurgical Corporation of China's strong EPS growth. The fast growth bodes well while the very reasonable CEO pay assists builds some confidence in the board. We think that based on its merits alone, this stock is worth watching into the future. You still need to take note of risks, for example - Metallurgical Corporation of China has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware 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 free list of them here.

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.