With its stock down 14% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group (HKG:3692). But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group is:

11% = CN¥2.6b ÷ CN¥24b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every HK$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated HK$0.11 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don't share these attributes.

A Side By Side comparison of Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

To start with, Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 13%. This probably goes some way in explaining Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's moderate 5.0% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.

As a next step, we compared Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 6.1% in the same period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. What is 3692 worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether 3692 is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 20% (implying that it retains 80% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Moreover, Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of three years of paying a dividend. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 22% of its profits over the next three years. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's future ROE will be 12% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.