Is Now The Time To Put Timberwell Berhad (KLSE:TIMWELL) On Your Watchlist?

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 currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

If this kind of company isn't your style, you like companies that generate revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in Timberwell Berhad (KLSE:TIMWELL). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Timberwell Berhad with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

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Timberwell Berhad's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Over the last three years, Timberwell Berhad has grown EPS by 11% per year. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. The good news is that Timberwell Berhad is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 4.8 percentage points to 16%, over the last year. 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. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

Timberwell Berhad isn't a huge company, given its market capitalisation of RM48m. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.

Are Timberwell Berhad Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Seeing insiders owning a large portion of the shares on issue is often a good sign. Their incentives will be aligned with the investors and there's less of a probability in a sudden sell-off that would impact the share price. So as you can imagine, the fact that Timberwell Berhad insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. To be exact, company insiders hold 80% of the company, so their decisions have a significant impact on their investments. This makes it apparent they will be incentivised to plan for the long term - a positive for shareholders with a sit and hold strategy. Although, with Timberwell Berhad being valued at RM48m, this is a small company we're talking about. So this large proportion of shares owned by insiders only amounts to RM38m. That's not a huge stake in absolute terms, but it should help keep insiders aligned with other shareholders.

Does Timberwell Berhad Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

One positive for Timberwell Berhad is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. If that's not enough on its own, there is also the rather notable levels of insider ownership. The combination definitely favoured by investors so consider keeping the company on a watchlist. Even so, be aware that Timberwell Berhad is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...

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.