In the last 10 years the shares of Technology One Limited (ASX: TNE) have provided investors with an incredible average annual total return of 25.5%.
Let's put that into perspective. Anyone that invested $50,000 in its shares all the way back in October 2006 would have seen that investment grow in value to be worth $484,000 today.
Investors making the same level of investment at the same time in blue chip shares BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) would have seen their investments grow to be worth just $66,000 and $86,000 respectively.
Clearly this provider of integrated enterprise solutions has been a great place to invest during the last decade. But is this still the case today?
I think it could be. Although admittedly its shares are looking a little pricey at just under 45x estimated FY 2016 earnings, it is understandable when the company has been growing earnings at a strong rate and looks set to continue doing so for the next few years.
Management expects profit growth of 10% to 15% for the full year thanks to growth in licences and due to being the preferred supplier for a number of very large contracts.
Looking to the future the seismic shift to the cloud is expected to be a key driver of growth for the company. At present its cloud services business is loss-making, but by the end of FY 2017 this is expected to become profitable.
In fact between FY 2015 and the end of FY 2022, management expects its cloud services fees to grow at an incredible compound annual growth rate of almost 51%.
With management also feeling confident that the work it is doing will improve its profit margin back up to 25% from 21%, Technology One looks to be in a great position to grow its earnings at a rapid clip.
Next month the company is expected to release its preliminary full year results. With its shares trading at high multiples it might be worthwhile holding off an investment until the results have been released. You may miss out on some gains, but you could also miss out on significant declines if they fall short of expectations.
