Foreign expansion means that Whitbread (LSE: WTB) is a FTSE 100 growth stock worth betting on, in my opinion.
The company’s accelerated expansion plan in its targeted growth market of Germany, for instance, offers plenty of earnings upside and its determination to make a serious mark there there was underlined by its decision in February to acquire 19 hotels in the country from Foremost Hospitality Group for an undisclosed fee.
Whitbread said that the move will give it a “substantial presence in the German hotel market, increasing the total committed network pipeline to 31 hotels with over 5,700 rooms across 15 key cities that are all expected to be open by the end of 2020.”
But foreign climes are not the only component of Whitbread’s Premier Inn growth plan as it also aggressively spreads out at home (it is aiming for 85,000 rooms by fiscal 2020 versus around 70,000 at present).
The Foostie firm also has big plans over at Costa too, of course, both in Britain and internationally. And these shiny new stores are performing extremely well as sales from fledgling outlets rose 7.2% during the third quarter. Meanwhile, Whitbread also has plans to turbocharge the number of Costa Express machines it has operating across the globe.
Smell the coffee
Whitbread has been a relentless growth generator for many years as the short break has powered demand for its hotel rooms and Britons have acquired a growing taste for coffee.
City analysts believe this trend has much further to run too, and to gradually pick up the pace from the 4% earnings advance expected for the year to February 2018 — a 5% rise is forecast for fiscal 2019 and a 7% increase for the following period.
Whitbread is not without risk, of course, as a slowing UK economy could hamper revenues across the business. Domestic like-for-like sales rose just 0.3% in the third quarter owing to what the firm said reflected “recent tougher market conditions”.
Still, I believe Whitbread remains a compelling pick for long-term investors as it spreads its wingspan across the globe. And in my opinion a forward P/E ratio of 14.2 times fails to reflect its supreme earnings prospects.
Mighty Micro
Micro Focus (LSE: MCRO) is another Footsie-quoted share predicted to deliver brilliant earnings growth in the near term and beyond.
Now the software giant saw its share price slump in January as interim results missed analyst expectations. They have fallen further since then and I consider this to be a prime buying opportunity.
The City is expecting earnings at Micro Focus to rise 11% in the year to October 2018 and by an additional 13% in fiscal 2019, leaving the business trading on a P/E multiple of 13.3 times.
This is a bargain in my opinion, the tech star being in great shape to keep growing profits by double-digit percentages following the acquisition of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) software operations. And the low rating more than factors in the chances of further integration troubles with HPE, in my opinion.
