Is There An Opportunity With MMA Offshore Limited's (ASX:MRM) 37% Undervaluation?

Key Insights

• MMA Offshore's estimated fair value is AU$2.42 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

• MMA Offshore is estimated to be 37% undervalued based on current share price of AU$1.52

• Analyst price target for MRM is AU$1.48 which is 39% below our fair value estimate

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of MMA Offshore Limited (ASX:MRM) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for MMA Offshore

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 start off with, we need to estimate 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, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033
Levered FCF (A$, Millions)	AU$55.7m	AU$66.7m	AU$69.4m	AU$71.6m	AU$73.6m	AU$75.5m	AU$77.4m	AU$79.2m	AU$81.0m	AU$82.8m
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x3	Analyst x3	Analyst x3	Est @ 3.15%	Est @ 2.83%	Est @ 2.60%	Est @ 2.45%	Est @ 2.34%	Est @ 2.26%	Est @ 2.21%
Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 9.5%	AU$50.9	AU$55.6	AU$52.8	AU$49.8	AU$46.7	AU$43.8	AU$40.9	AU$38.3	AU$35.7	AU$33.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = AU$448m

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.1%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 9.5%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₃ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = AU$83m× (1 + 2.1%) ÷ (9.5%– 2.1%) = AU$1.1b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= AU$1.1b÷ ( 1 + 9.5%)¹⁰= AU$458m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is AU$905m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of AU$1.5, the company appears quite good value at a 37% discount to where the stock price trades currently. 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 MMA Offshore 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 9.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.488. 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 MMA Offshore

Strength

• Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

• Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

• No major weaknesses identified for MRM.

Opportunity

• Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the Australian market.

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

Threat

• Annual earnings are forecast to decline for the next 3 years.

Looking Ahead:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For MMA Offshore, we've compiled three further items you should look at:

1. Risks: Take risks, for example - MMA Offshore has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

2. Future Earnings: How does MRM'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 ASX 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.