SG Micro (SZSE:300661) has had a rough three months with its share price down 14%. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Specifically, we decided to study SG Micro's ROE in this article.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for SG Micro

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for SG Micro is:

32% = CN¥873m ÷ CN¥2.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.32 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company's earnings growth potential. 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 SG Micro's Earnings Growth And 32% ROE

First thing first, we like that SG Micro has an impressive ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 10% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. So, the substantial 49% net income growth seen by SG Micro over the past five years isn't overly surprising.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that SG Micro's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 33% in the same period, which is great to see.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is SG Micro fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is SG Micro Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

SG Micro's ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 23% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (77%) of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.

Additionally, SG Micro has paid dividends over a period of four years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 13% over the next three years. Despite the lower expected payout ratio, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with SG Micro's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.