Analyst's Diary: Valuing the intangible

Business valuation is subjective. It is more of an art than a science. The process involves considering several factors, such as the company's prospects, financial health and management quality. Among these, evaluating management quality is perhaps the most difficult. The case study of Cupid Take, for instance, Cupid, a manufacturer of male and female condoms. A recent change in management led to a seven-fold increase in its share price in six months! But was the previous management performing poorly? Not quite! Between FY15 and FY23, Cupid's revenue and profit after tax grew nearly fourfold. During the same period, it maintai