Based on Helvetia Holding AG's (VTX:HELN) earnings update in December 2018, analyst consensus outlook appear cautiously optimistic, with profits predicted to increase by 28% next year compared with the past 5-year average growth rate of 3.0%. By 2020, we can expect Helvetia Holding’s bottom line to reach CHF530m, a jump from the current trailing-twelve-month of CHF414m. I will provide a brief commentary around the figures and analyst expectations in the near term. Readers that are interested in understanding the company beyond these figures should research its fundamentals here.

Check out our latest analysis for Helvetia Holding

What can we expect from Helvetia Holding in the longer term?

Longer term expectations from the 4 analysts covering HELN’s stock is one of positive sentiment. Since forecasting becomes more difficult further into the future, broker analysts generally project out to around three years. To understand the overall trajectory of HELN's earnings growth over these next fews years, I've fitted a line through these analyst earnings forecast to determine an annual growth rate from the slope.

This results in an annual growth rate of 8.5% based on the most recent earnings level of CHF414m to the final forecast of CHF547m by 2022. This leads to an EPS of CHF10.77 in the final year of projections relative to the current EPS of CHF8.38. In 2022, HELN's profit margin will have expanded from 4.5% to 5.8%.

Next Steps:

Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For Helvetia Holding, I've put together three essential aspects you should look at:

1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.

2. Valuation: What is Helvetia Holding worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Helvetia Holding is currently mispriced by the market.

3. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Helvetia Holding? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.