Estimating The Fair Value Of Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited (HKG:780)

Key Insights

• Tongcheng Travel Holdings' estimated fair value is HK$20.85 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity
• With HK$21.35 share price, Tongcheng Travel Holdings appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value
• Our fair value estimate is 10% lower than Tongcheng Travel Holdings' analyst price target of CN¥23.23

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited (HKG:780) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

View our latest analysis for Tongcheng Travel Holdings

The Method

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033
Levered FCF (CN¥, Millions)	CN¥3.16b	CN¥3.32b	CN¥3.67b	CN¥3.82b	CN¥3.45b	CN¥3.25b	CN¥3.14b	CN¥3.08b	CN¥3.06b	CN¥3.06b
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x5	Analyst x4	Analyst x3	Analyst x2	Analyst x1	Est @ -5.87%	Est @ -3.50%	Est @ -1.83%	Est @ -0.67%	Est @ 0.14%
Present Value (CN¥, Millions) Discounted @ 8.4%	CN¥2.9k	CN¥2.8k	CN¥2.9k	CN¥2.8k	CN¥2.3k	CN¥2.0k	CN¥1.8k	CN¥1.6k	CN¥1.5k	CN¥1.4k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN¥22b

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.0%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.4%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₃ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CN¥3.1b× (1 + 2.0%) ÷ (8.4%– 2.0%) = CN¥49b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= CN¥49b÷ ( 1 + 8.4%)¹⁰= CN¥22b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CN¥44b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of HK$21.4, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Tongcheng Travel Holdings as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.134. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Tongcheng Travel Holdings

Looking Ahead:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Tongcheng Travel Holdings, we've put together three pertinent factors you should consider:

1. Financial Health: Does 780 have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does 780's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
3. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Hong Kong stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

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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.