AviChina Industry & Technology (HKG:2357) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 16% over the last three months. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. In this article, we decided to focus on AviChina Industry & Technology's ROE.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
How To 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 AviChina Industry & Technology is:
7.6% = CN¥6.7b ÷ CN¥88b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. So, this means that for every HK$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of HK$0.08.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. 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.
A Side By Side comparison of AviChina Industry & Technology's Earnings Growth And 7.6% ROE
On the face of it, AviChina Industry & Technology's ROE is not much to talk about. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 8.1%, we may spare it some thought. On the other hand, AviChina Industry & Technology reported a moderate 15% net income growth over the past five years. Considering the moderately low ROE, it is quite possible that there might be some other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. 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.
We then performed a comparison between AviChina Industry & Technology's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 14% in the same 5-year period.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is AviChina Industry & Technology fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is AviChina Industry & Technology Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
With a three-year median payout ratio of 26% (implying that the company retains 74% of its profits), it seems that AviChina Industry & Technology is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees respectable amount growth in its earnings and pays a dividend that's well covered.
Besides, AviChina Industry & Technology has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 29% of its profits over the next three years. Regardless, the future ROE for AviChina Industry & Technology is predicted to rise to 9.5% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.
Summary
Overall, we feel that AviChina Industry & Technology certainly does have some positive factors to consider. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable 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 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.