It is hard to get excited after looking at Shanghai Titan Scientific's (SHSE:688133) recent performance, when its stock has declined 13% over the past three months. However, the company's fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. Specifically, we decided to study Shanghai Titan Scientific's ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai Titan Scientific

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 Shanghai Titan Scientific is:

3.7% = CN¥106m ÷ CN¥2.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

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¥0.04 in profit.

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 Shanghai Titan Scientific's Earnings Growth And 3.7% ROE

It is hard to argue that Shanghai Titan Scientific's ROE is much good in and of itself. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 6.7%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. However, the moderate 19% net income growth seen by Shanghai Titan Scientific over the past five years is definitely a positive. Therefore, the growth in earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then compared Shanghai Titan Scientific'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 12% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Shanghai Titan Scientific fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Shanghai Titan Scientific Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Shanghai Titan Scientific has a low three-year median payout ratio of 13%, meaning that the company retains the remaining 87% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business.

Moreover, Shanghai Titan Scientific is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of three years of paying a dividend.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Shanghai Titan Scientific 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. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. 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.