Does Ark Royal SA’s (WSE:ARK) Latest Financial Perfomance Look Strong?

Assessing Ark Royal SA’s (WSE:ARK) performance as a company requires looking at more than just a years’ earnings data. Below, I will run you through a simple sense check to build perspective on how Ark Royal is doing by comparing its most recent earnings with its historical trend, in addition to the performance of its specialty retail industry peers. See our latest analysis for Ark Royal

How ARK fared against its long-term earnings performance and its industry

For the most up-to-date info, I use the ‘latest twelve-month’ data, which either annualizes the most recent 6-month earnings update, or in some cases, the most recent annual report is already the latest available financial data. This blend enables me to assess different companies in a uniform manner using the latest information. For Ark Royal, its most recent earnings (trailing twelve month) is -ZŁ49.90K, which, relative to last year’s figure, has become less negative. Given that these figures may be somewhat myopic, I have created an annualized five-year value for ARK’s earnings, which stands at -ZŁ1.15M. This suggests that, though net income is negative, it has become less negative over the years.

We can further assess Ark Royal’s loss by looking at what the industry has been experiencing over the past few years. Each year, for the past five years Ark Royal has seen an annual decline in revenue of -45.15%, on average. This adverse movement is a driver of the company’s inability to reach breakeven. Has the entire industry experienced this headwind? Eyeballing growth from a sector-level, the PL specialty retail industry has been growing, albeit, at a unexciting single-digit rate of 2.84% over the previous year, and 7.55% over the past half a decade. This suggests that while Ark Royal is currently running a loss, any recent headwind the industry is facing, Ark Royal is less exposed compared to its peers.

What does this mean?

Though Ark Royal’s past data is helpful, it is only one aspect of my investment thesis. Companies that incur net loss is always difficult to forecast what will happen in the future and when. The most insightful step is to assess company-specific issues Ark Royal may be facing and whether management guidance has steadily been met in the past. I recommend you continue to research Ark Royal to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:

1. Financial Health: Is ARK’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 ARK 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 ARK 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 2017. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.