For those seeking spectacular earnings growth in the near term and beyond, I reckon investors could do a lot worse than check out Spirent Communications (LSE: SPT).
The Crawley firm has seen its share price accelerate as speculation that it could be a takeover target has hit fever pitch. Indeed, Spirent hit record tops above 125p per share just today after analysts at Citi lauded the quality of the tech play’s business and favourable exposure to end markets.
And it is easy to see why Spirent — which provides testing services for broadband and 4G networks — could attract advances from potential suitors.
While Spirent saw revenues increasing 4% during January-March, to $106.4m, sales at its Networks & Security arm soared 23%, crushing expectations as demand for its high-speed Ethernet products grew. And the terrific reception to recently-launched offers like CyberFlood and SecurityLabs suggests that sales should keep rocketing higher.
City brokers expect Spirent to wave goodbye to the earnings volatility of recent years and print a 29% earnings advance in 2017, following on from last year’s more modest 6% rise. And a further 16% increase is chalked in for 2018.
And in my opinion, Spirent provides excellent value for money based on these projections. Sure, a forward P/E ratio of 23.7 times may sail above the widely-regarded value yardstick of 15 times. But a PEG readout of 0.8 (below the bargain benchmark of one) actually suggests the tech titan is priced attractively relative to its growth prospects.
I reckon Spirent could prove a wise long-term investment as global telecommunications investment steadily grows.
Chemical fix
Like Spirent, the number crunchers also expect Treatt (LSE: TET) to enjoy breakneck bottom-line growth in the years ahead.
The chemicals play — which produces flavour, fragrance and cosmetic ingredients — announced this week that revenues climbed 27% during October-March, to £51.8m, a result that pushed adjusted pre-tax profit 63% higher to £5.5m.
And in a promising update on recent trading, chief executive Daemmon Reeve commented that “the strong performance… has continued into the third quarter with group order books remaining materially higher than this time last year as the benefit of some significant new business wins continues to show through.”
Following a similarly-spectacular February trading statement, Treatt has seen its share price scream 63% higher in 2017 and top out at a new all-time peak around 420p per share just today. However, I reckon the business still provides very-decent value at current prices.
In the year to September 2017 Treatt is predicted to churn out a 44% earnings advance, and to follow this up with a 5% rise in fiscal 2018.
The Bury St Edmunds business deals on a forward P/E ratio of 22.6 times, as a result, or a mere PEG reading of 0.5 times. Given the prospect of earnings upgrades as sales boom across the globe (sales in China exploded 43% in the half year, for example), I reckon Treatt is a great growth selection at current prices.
