PCBL Limited Just Missed EPS By 7.3%: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

PCBL Limited (NSE:PCBL) shareholders are probably feeling a little disappointed, since its shares fell 6.5% to ₹252 in the week after its latest full-year results. PCBL beat revenue expectations by 5.7%, at ₹65b. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in at ₹13.00, some 7.3% short of analyst estimates. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

View our latest analysis for PCBL

After the latest results, the six analysts covering PCBL are now predicting revenues of ₹69.4b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a reasonable 7.4% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 20% to ₹15.67. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of ₹70.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of ₹14.77 in 2025. If anything, the analysts look to have become slightly more optimistic overall; while they decreased their revenue forecasts, EPS predictions increased and ultimately earnings are more important.

The consensus has made no major changes to the price target of ₹327, suggesting the forecast improvement in earnings is expected to offset the decline in revenues next year. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. Currently, the most bullish analyst values PCBL at ₹355 per share, while the most bearish prices it at ₹299. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the PCBL's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that PCBL's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 7.4% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 16% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 12% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than PCBL.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards PCBL following these results. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. Still, earnings are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for PCBL going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Before you take the next step you should know about the 2 warning signs for PCBL that we have uncovered.

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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.