Should You Be Adding Turbo-Mech Berhad (KLSE:TURBO) To Your Watchlist Today?

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it completely lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.'

In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies like Turbo-Mech Berhad (KLSE:TURBO), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, unless its owners have an endless appetite for subsidizing the customer, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else breathe its last breath.

Check out our latest analysis for Turbo-Mech Berhad

Turbo-Mech Berhad's Earnings Per Share Are 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). Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Turbo-Mech Berhad managed to grow EPS by 13% per year, over three years. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

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. Turbo-Mech Berhad shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 6.7% to 10%, and revenue is growing. That's great to see, on both counts.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

Turbo-Mech Berhad isn't a huge company, given its market capitalization of RM76m. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.

Are Turbo-Mech Berhad Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Personally, I like to see high insider ownership of a company, since it suggests that it will be managed in the interests of shareholders. So as you can imagine, the fact that Turbo-Mech Berhad insiders own a significant number of shares certainly appeals to me. Indeed, with a collective holding of 54%, company insiders are in control and have plenty of capital behind the venture. This makes me think they will be incentivised to plan for the long term - something I like to see. Valued at only RM76m Turbo-Mech Berhad is really small for a listed company. So despite a large proportional holding, insiders only have RM41m worth of stock. That might not be a huge sum but it should be enough to keep insiders motivated!

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Well, based on the CEO pay, I'd say they are indeed. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Turbo-Mech Berhad with market caps under RM810m is about RM587k.

The CEO of Turbo-Mech Berhad was paid just RM22k in total compensation for the year ending . This could be considered a token amount, and indicates that the company does not need to use payment to motivate the CEO - that is often a good sign. While the level of CEO compensation isn't a huge factor in my view of the company, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Does Turbo-Mech Berhad Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

One positive for Turbo-Mech Berhad is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. Earnings growth might be the main game for Turbo-Mech Berhad, but the fun does not stop there. Boasting both modest CEO pay and considerable insider ownership, I'd argue this one is worthy of the watchlist, at least. You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Turbo-Mech Berhad you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

You can invest in any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

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. 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.
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