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 the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.
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 RBL Bank (NSE:RBLBANK). 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 RBL Bank
How Fast Is RBL Bank 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. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Shareholders will be happy to know that RBL Bank's EPS has grown 26% each year, compound, over three years. As a general rule, we'd say that if a company can keep up that sort of growth, shareholders will be beaming.
Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. It's noted that RBL Bank's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort our analysis of its margins. While we note RBL Bank achieved similar EBIT margins to last year, revenue grew by a solid 21% to ₹67b. That's encouraging news for the company!
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.
Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for RBL Bank.
Are RBL Bank Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It should give investors a sense of security owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, creating a close alignment their interests. So it is good to see that RBL Bank insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Holding ₹4.5b worth of stock in the company is no laughing matter and insiders will be committed in delivering the best outcomes for shareholders. This would indicate that the goals of shareholders and management are one and the same.
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. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to RBL Bank, with market caps between ₹83b and ₹267b, is around ₹39m.
The RBL Bank CEO received ₹21m in compensation for the year ending March 2023. That is actually below the median for CEO's of similarly sized companies. 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 RBL Bank To Your Watchlist?
You can't deny that RBL Bank has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. 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 RBL Bank has underlying strengths that make it worth a look at. However, before you get too excited we've discovered 1 warning sign for RBL Bank that 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.
About NSEI:RBLBANK
Reasonable growth potential with adequate balance sheet.
