Sinopharm Group (HKG:1099) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 16% over the last three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on Sinopharm Group's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Sinopharm Group

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

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

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

13% = CN¥13b ÷ CN¥106b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every HK$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of HK$0.13.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

Sinopharm Group's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE

To begin with, Sinopharm Group seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 8.3%. This certainly adds some context to Sinopharm Group's decent 9.5% net income growth seen over the past five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Sinopharm Group's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 13% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.

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). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Sinopharm Group's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Sinopharm Group Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Sinopharm Group has a three-year median payout ratio of 29%, which implies that it retains the remaining 71% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Additionally, Sinopharm Group has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 26%. However, Sinopharm Group's future ROE is expected to decline to 9.6% despite there being not much change anticipated in the company's payout ratio.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Sinopharm Group'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 a good amount of growth in its earnings. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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.