Here's Why We Think Plover Bay Technologies (HKG:1523) Is Well Worth Watching

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. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. 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.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Plover Bay Technologies (HKG:1523). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

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How Fast Is Plover Bay Technologies Growing?

Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. It certainly is nice to see that Plover Bay Technologies has managed to grow EPS by 21% per year over three years. If growth like this continues on into the future, then shareholders will have plenty to smile about.

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 Plover Bay Technologies is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 3.4 percentage points to 37%, over the last year. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

See our latest analysis for Plover Bay Technologies

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 Plover Bay Technologies' future EPS 100% free.

Are Plover Bay Technologies 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 Plover Bay Technologies insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. Indeed, with a collective holding of 70%, company insiders are in control and have plenty of capital behind the venture. Intuition will tell you this is a good sign because it suggests they will be incentivised to build value for shareholders over the long term. That level of investment from insiders is nothing to sneeze at.

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Well, based on the CEO pay, you'd argue that they are indeed. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Plover Bay Technologies with market caps between US$400m and US$1.6b is about US$432k.

The Plover Bay Technologies CEO received total compensation of only US$235k in the year to December 2024. 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.

Should You Add Plover Bay Technologies To Your Watchlist?

For growth investors, Plover Bay Technologies' raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. If you still have your doubts, remember too that company insiders have a considerable investment aligning themselves with the shareholders and CEO pay is quite modest compared to similarly sized companiess. The overarching message here is that Plover Bay Technologies has underlying strengths that make it worth a look at. However, before you get too excited we've discovered 1 warning sign for Plover Bay Technologies that you should be aware of.

While opting for stocks without growing earnings and absent insider buying can yield results, for investors valuing these key metrics, here is a carefully selected list of companies in HK with promising growth potential and insider confidence.

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.