Did You Participate In Any Of Whitehaven Coal's (ASX:WHC) Fantastic 131% Return ?

The Whitehaven Coal Limited (ASX:WHC) share price has had a bad week, falling 10%. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been respectable. It's good to see the share price is up 76% in that time, better than its market return of 75%. While the returns over the last 5 years have been good, we do feel sorry for those shareholders who haven't held shares that long, because the share price is down 66% in the last three years.

See our latest analysis for Whitehaven Coal

Given that Whitehaven Coal didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In the last 5 years Whitehaven Coal saw its revenue grow at 9.0% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. Revenue has been growing at a reasonable clip, so it's debatable whether the share price growth of 12% full reflects the underlying business growth. The key question is whether revenue growth will slow down, and if so, how quickly. There's no doubt that it can be difficult to value pre-profit companies.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

earnings-and-revenue-growthearnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Whitehaven Coal

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Whitehaven Coal's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Its history of dividend payouts mean that Whitehaven Coal's TSR of 131% over the last 5 years is better than the share price return.

A Different Perspective

Whitehaven Coal shareholders gained a total return of 22% during the year. But that return falls short of the market. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 18% per year over five year. This suggests the company might be improving over time. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Whitehaven Coal that you should be aware of before investing here.

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

By Matt Earle

Matthew Earle is the Founder of MiningFeeds. In 2005, Matt founded MiningNerds.com to provide data and information to the mining investment community. This site was merged with Highgrade Review to form MiningFeeds. Matt has a B.Sc. degree with a minor in geology from the University of Toronto.

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