Do Century Plyboards (India)'s (NSE:CENTURYPLY) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?

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 can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Century Plyboards (India) (NSE:CENTURYPLY), which has not only revenues, but also profits. 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.

See our latest analysis for Century Plyboards (India)

How Quickly Is Century Plyboards (India) Increasing Earnings Per Share?

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. Impressively, Century Plyboards (India) has grown EPS by 28% per year, compound, in the last three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away satisfied.

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. Century Plyboards (India) shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 13% to 15%, and revenue is growing. 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. 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 Century Plyboards (India)'s future EPS 100% free.

Are Century Plyboards (India) 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 Century Plyboards (India) insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 55% of the company, so they will share in the same delights and challenges experienced by the ordinary shareholders. 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. This insider holding amounts to That level of investment from insiders is nothing to sneeze at.

It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but shareholders may be wondering if remuneration policies are in their best interest. 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 Century Plyboards (India) with market caps between ₹79b and ₹253b is about ₹38m.

Century Plyboards (India) offered total compensation worth ₹26m to its CEO in the year to March 2021. That is actually below the median for CEO's of similarly sized companies. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when it's reasonable, that gives a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Is Century Plyboards (India) Worth Keeping An Eye On?

For growth investors, Century Plyboards (India)'s 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. This may only be a fast rundown, but the key takeaway is that Century Plyboards (India) is worth keeping an eye on. It is worth noting though that we have found 2 warning signs for Century Plyboards (India) (1 is a bit concerning!) that you need to take into consideration.

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.