If EPS Growth Is Important To You, JPP Holding (TWSE:5284) Presents An Opportunity

It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like JPP Holding (TWSE:5284), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

Check out our latest analysis for JPP Holding

JPP Holding's Improving Profits

In the last three years JPP Holding's earnings per share took off; so much so that it's a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Impressively, JPP Holding's EPS catapulted from NT$4.17 to NT$9.65, over the last year. It's not often a company can achieve year-on-year growth of 131%. Shareholders will be hopeful that this is a sign of the company reaching an inflection point.

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. The good news is that JPP Holding is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 8.0 percentage points to 23%, over the last year. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

While profitability drives the upside, prudent investors always check the balance sheet, too.

Are JPP Holding Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Prior to investment, it's always a good idea to check that the management team is paid reasonably. Pay levels around or below the median, can be a sign that shareholder interests are well considered. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like JPP Holding with market caps between NT$6.3b and NT$25b is about NT$6.9m.

JPP Holding's CEO only received compensation totalling NT$902k in the year to December 2022. You could consider this pay as somewhat symbolic, which suggests the CEO does not need a lot of compensation to stay motivated. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Should You Add JPP Holding To Your Watchlist?

JPP Holding's earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. With increasing profits, its seems likely the business has a rosy future; and it may have hit an inflection point. Meanwhile, the very reasonable CEO pay is a great reassurance, since it points to an absence of wasteful spending habits. It will definitely require further research to be sure, but it does seem that JPP Holding has the hallmarks of a quality business; and that would make it well worth watching. It is worth noting though that we have found 2 warning signs for JPP Holding (1 is potentially serious!) that you need to take into consideration.

Although JPP Holding certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with insider buying, then check out this handpicked selection of Taiwanese companies that not only boast of strong growth but have also seen recent insider buying..

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.