With its stock down 20% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd (SHSE:603105). 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. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd's ROE today.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

How Is ROE Calculated?

ROE 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 Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd is:

11% = CN¥216m ÷ CN¥1.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.11 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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 Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd's Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

At first glance, Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd seems to have a decent ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 6.2% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. Probably as a result of this, Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd was able to see an impressive net income growth of 30% over the last five years. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

As a next step, we compared Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd'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 26% in the same 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. Is Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd has a three-year median payout ratio of 29% (where it is retaining 71% of its income) which is not too low or not too high. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the high growth we discussed above, it looks like Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Besides, Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd has been paying dividends over a period of five years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 40% over the next three years. However, Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd's future ROE is expected to rise to 16% despite the expected increase in the company's payout ratio. We infer that there could be other factors that could be driving the anticipated growth in the company's ROE.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Zhejiang Sunoren Solar TechnologyLtd's performance has been quite good. 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. On studying current analyst estimates, we found that analysts expect the company to continue its recent growth streak. 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.