What You Can Learn From Malayan Cement Berhad's (KLSE:MCEMENT) P/E

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 38.9x Malayan Cement Berhad (KLSE:MCEMENT) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Malaysia have P/E ratios under 14x and even P/E's lower than 9x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Malayan Cement Berhad has been doing relatively well. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Malayan Cement Berhad

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What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Malayan Cement Berhad would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 63%. Still, EPS has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 30% as estimated by the five analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 12%, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why Malayan Cement Berhad is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that Malayan Cement Berhad maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for Malayan Cement Berhad that you need to be mindful of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.