A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of IJM Corporation Berhad (KLSE:IJM)

Key Insights

• The projected fair value for IJM Corporation Berhad is RM2.42 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

• With RM2.42 share price, IJM Corporation Berhad appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value

• Our fair value estimate is 4.2% higher than IJM Corporation Berhad's analyst price target of RM2.32

Does the March share price for IJM Corporation Berhad (KLSE:IJM) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for IJM Corporation Berhad

The Model

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033
Levered FCF (MYR, Millions)	RM656.4m	RM844.1m	RM840.5m	RM847.1m	RM860.8m	RM879.7m	RM902.5m	RM928.5m	RM957.1m	RM987.9m
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x3	Analyst x2	Analyst x2	Est @ 0.79%	Est @ 1.62%	Est @ 2.19%	Est @ 2.60%	Est @ 2.88%	Est @ 3.08%	Est @ 3.22%
Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 12%	RM585	RM670	RM595	RM534	RM484	RM441	RM403	RM370	RM340	RM312

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM4.7b

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.5%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 12%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₃ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = RM988m× (1 + 3.5%) ÷ (12%– 3.5%) = RM12b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= RM12b÷ ( 1 + 12%)¹⁰= RM3.7b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM8.5b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM2.4, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

The Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at IJM Corporation Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 12%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.364. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for IJM Corporation Berhad

Strength

• Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

• Debt is not viewed as a risk.

• Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

• Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Construction market.

• Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

• Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Threat

• Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For IJM Corporation Berhad, we've put together three further elements you should look at:

1. Risks: Be aware that IJM Corporation Berhad is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

2. Future Earnings: How does IJM's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.

3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the KLSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

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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.