With its stock down 26% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Wuxi Unicomp Technology (SHSE:688531). But if you pay close attention, you might find that its key financial indicators look quite decent, which could mean that the stock could potentially rise in the long-term given how markets usually reward more resilient long-term fundamentals. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Wuxi Unicomp Technology's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

View our latest analysis for Wuxi Unicomp Technology

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 Wuxi Unicomp Technology is:

3.7% = CN¥120m ÷ CN¥3.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.04.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

Wuxi Unicomp Technology's Earnings Growth And 3.7% ROE

It is hard to argue that Wuxi Unicomp Technology's ROE is much good in and of itself. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 6.6%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. However, we we're pleasantly surprised to see that Wuxi Unicomp Technology grew its net income at a significant rate of 43% in the last five years. Therefore, there could be other reasons behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then compared Wuxi Unicomp Technology's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 11% in the same 5-year period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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. If you're wondering about Wuxi Unicomp Technology's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Wuxi Unicomp Technology Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Wuxi Unicomp Technology's ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 20% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (80%) of its profits. So it looks like Wuxi Unicomp Technology is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Wuxi Unicomp Technology has some positive aspects to its business. Even in spite of the low rate of return, the company has posted impressive earnings growth as a result of reinvesting heavily into its business. We also studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that the company's earnings growth is expected be similar to its current growth rate. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts 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.