14 – Current temptation, future frustration

The 14th part of the Series is “Current Temptation, future frustration”. This series is based on the companies which are currently darling of the market and many trying to catch such opportunities but it has a probability to become a reason for future frustration. It can wipe out the majority of gains in wealth. I am trying to put some of the number-crunching facts by which we can identify ongoing issues in the companies and can save our wealth.

I am starting this article with one of the company which is engaged in the business of Solar consulting & EPC have a 52 weeks low price of Rs.296, 52 weeks high price of Rs.1,990, and LTP is Rs.1,133. This company has rewarded ~283% of return in a year with LTP, and 572% of return in a year with 52 week high.

Let’s start looking at the numbers.

We can see that the company has a decent promoter holding which gives confidence to many people but with it, promoters of the company have ~30.93% of their holding pledged.

We can see the all-time high sale of the company with Operating profit. Even if we look at the CAGR of sales as well as profit then it is also on the higher side.

When we look at the balance sheet then we can see that the company has continuously raised its share capital, now need to check that either through fundraising or through corporate actions. The borrowing of the company is also growing rapidly. If we look at it in detail then the company has raised funds in FY20 and announced a bonus in FY22.

If we look at the numbers with connections then we can come to know that share capital is growing in line with sales growth. But borrowings and working capital are growing at a rapid pace compared to sales growth, which indicates that the company requires a higher working capital as well as borrowings to fund its growth. The reserves of the company are also growing rapidly which is a good sign to fund the growth of the company.

When we look at the cash flow statement then Cash from Operating Activity is -ve in some of the years. The cumulative CFO of FY17-22 is Rs.-19 cr with FCF of Rs.-79 cr so the company needs outside funding for supporting the growth. If we look at the cumulative operating profit and net profit then it is Rs.47.72 cr and Rs.29.65 cr for the same period. This indicates that the company cannot able to convert accounting profit to cash profit.

If we look at the receivables and inventories as a % of sales then it is 60% of sales whereas payable is just 8% of sales so the company needs a higher working capital to fund growth. The Cash Conversion Cycle is continuously worsening mainly due to higher inventory days. The company takes almost 8.5 months to convert its spending into cash.

We can see that the company keeps on diversifying from its original business, even though the company has not properly captured its original business. The existing business is still struggling to strengthen its financial performance and venturing toward new business can be harmful to the business going forward.

This entire series is based on past available data and ignored the future development of companies and the stock market always looks at the future.

Disclosure – Companies mentioned in the article are just for example & educational purposes. It is not a buy/sell/ hold recommendation.

This series contains learning from books –

Financial Shenanigans

Quality of Earnings

The Financial Numbers Game

Creative Cash Flow Reporting

10 – Current temptation, future frustration

The tenth part of the Series is “Current temptation, future frustration”. This series is based on the companies which are currently darling of the market and many trying to catch such opportunities but it has a probability to become a reason for future frustration. It can wipe out the majority of gains in wealth. I am trying to put some of the number-crunching facts by which we can identify ongoing issues in the companies and can be saved our wealth.

I am starting this article with one of the company which is engaged in the business of trading has a 52 weeks low price of Rs.9.60 and LTP is Rs.62.2, a 52-week high of Rs.79.2. This company has rewarded ~6.48x of return in a year.

Let’s start looking at the numbers.

We can see that the company has high volatile sales, OP Margin% and not earning profits.  

We can see that higher receivable days and payable days where we can say that almost 3 years of receivables and a year of payable. Shocking…..

The major balance sheet item is advance recoverable and for that, there is no provision made by the company.

The company does not have a good return ratio.

When we look at the shareholding pattern then promoters hold only 6.89% now and the remaining hold by the public. If the promoters have trust in the performance of the company then they have to hold higher holding.

This entire series is based on past available data and ignored the future development in companies and the stock market always looks at the future.

Disclosure – Companies mentioned in the article are just for an example & educational purpose. It is not a buy/sell/ hold recommendation.

This series contains learning from books –

Financial Shenanigans

Quality of Earnings

The Financial Numbers Game

Creative Cash Flow Reporting

09 – Current temptation, future frustration

The ninth part of the Series is “Current temptation, future frustration”. This series is based on the companies which are currently darling of the market and many trying to catch such opportunities but it has a probability to become a reason for future frustration. It can wipe out the majority of gains in wealth. I am trying to put some of the number-crunching facts by which we can identify ongoing issues in the companies and can be saved our wealth.

I am starting this article with one of the company which is engaged in the business of trading textiles has a 52 weeks low price of Rs.2.13 and an LTP is Rs.46.90, 52-week high price of Rs.52. This company has rewarded ~22.02x of return in a year.

Let’s start looking at the numbers.

We can see that the company has high volatile sales, OP Margin%.

We can see that higher receivable days and payable days where we can say that almost 5 years of receivables and 7 years of payable. Shocking…..

We can see that the entire receivable and payable are from a single entity.

The company does not have a good return ratio.

When we look at the shareholding pattern then promoters hold only 1.03% in March-2018 which is ZERO now and all hold by the public. If the promoters have trust in the performance of the company then they have to hold higher holding.

Disclosure – Companies mentioned in the article are just for an example & educational purpose. It is not a buy/sell/ hold recommendation.

This series contains learning from books –

Financial Shenanigans

Quality of Earnings

The Financial Numbers Game

Creative Cash Flow Reporting

08 – Current temptation, future frustration

The eighth part of the Series is “Current temptation, future frustration”. This series is based on the companies which are currently darling of the market and many trying to catch such opportunities but it has a probability to become a reason for future frustration. It can wipe out the majority of gains in wealth. I am trying to put some of the number-crunching facts by which we can identify ongoing issues in the companies and can save our wealth.

I am starting this article with one of the company which is engaged in consultancy and advisory services in the field of management, IT, technical, industrial, personnel and labour, legal and taxation, financial, commercial and investment, capital market, consulting engineers, operational research consultants, computer service, and marketing services has a 52 weeks low price of Rs.5.26 and LTP is Rs.93.6, 52-week high price – Rs.99.5. This company has rewarded ~17.79x of return in a year.

Let’s start looking at the numbers.

We can see that the company has a high volatile OP Margin%, the company has achieved the highest ever profit in FY20. So this matrix seems good.

When we look at the common size balance sheet, then we come to know that the highest assets side item is other assets. Now, a consultancy company can have such an item but still, we have to do further digging.

The majority of assets account for loans and advances which nearly 85% of the total balance sheet. The company has not given any detailed breakup of loans. But when we read further notes then

The above note put seeds of doubt in our mind.

The company has major expenses are recorded as per bad debts which is 13.66x and 75.48x of net profit in FY20 and FY19 respectively. This will create trouble for the company.

The company does not have a good return ratio.

When we look at the shareholding pattern then promoters hold only 1.40% and the remaining hold by the public. If the promoters have trust in the performance of the company, then they have to hold higher holding.

Disclosure – Companies mentioned in the article are just for an example & educational purpose. It is not a buy/sell/ hold recommendation.

This series contains learning from books –

Financial Shenanigans

Quality of Earnings

The Financial Numbers Game

Creative Cash Flow Reporting