Has Larq SA. (WSE:LRQ) Improved Earnings Growth In Recent Times?

For investors with a long-term horizon, assessing earnings trend over time and against industry benchmarks is more valuable than looking at a single earnings announcement in one point in time. Investors may find my commentary, albeit very high-level and brief, on Larq SA. (WSE:LRQ) useful as an attempt to give more color around how Larq is currently performing. See our latest analysis for Larq

How Did LRQ’s Recent Performance Stack Up Against Its Past?

To account for any quarterly or half-yearly updates, I use the ‘latest twelve-month’ data, which annualizes the latest 6-month earnings release, or some times, the latest annual report is already the most recent financial data. This technique allows me to analyze different companies in a uniform manner using the latest information. For Larq, its latest trailing-twelve-month earnings is -ZŁ27.05K, which compared to last year’s level, has become less negative. Given that these figures are relatively nearsighted, I’ve determined an annualized five-year value for LRQ’s earnings, which stands at -ZŁ3.02M. This means that, although net income is negative, it has become less negative over the years.

We can further evaluate Larq’s loss by looking at what the industry has been experiencing over the past few years. Each year, for the past half a decade Larq has seen an annual decline in revenue of -4.42%, on average. This adverse movement is a driver of the company’s inability to reach breakeven. Has the entire industry experienced this headwind? Inspecting growth from a sector-level, the PL media industry has been enduring some headwinds in the past year, leading to an average earnings drop of -5.83%. This is a significant change, given that the industry has constantly been delivering a a solid growth of 14.15% in the last five years. This suggests that although Larq is presently loss-making, any recent headwind the industry is enduring, Larq is less exposed compared to its peers.

What does this mean?

While past data is useful, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Companies that incur net loss is always hard to envisage what will occur going forward, and when. The most useful step is to examine company-specific issues Larq may be facing and whether management guidance has regularly been met in the past. I recommend you continue to research Larq to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:

1. Financial Health: Is LRQ’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.
2. Valuation: What is LRQ worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether LRQ is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 30 September 2016. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.