With its stock down 12% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology (SHSE:603665). It seems that the market might have completely ignored the positive aspects of the company's fundamentals and decided to weigh-in more on the negative aspects. Long-term fundamentals are usually what drive market outcomes, so it's worth paying close attention. Specifically, we decided to study ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology's ROE in this article.

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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology is:

3.9% = CN¥60m ÷ CN¥1.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every CN¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CN¥0.04 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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.

A Side By Side comparison of ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology's Earnings Growth And 3.9% ROE

It is quite clear that ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology's ROE is rather low. Not just that, even compared to the industry average of 6.1%, the company's ROE is entirely unremarkable. Given the circumstances, the significant decline in net income by 9.9% seen by ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology over the last five years is not surprising. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company's earnings prospects. For instance, the company has a very high payout ratio, or is faced with competitive pressures.

So, as a next step, we compared ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology's performance against the industry and were disappointed to discover that while the company has been shrinking its earnings, the industry has been growing its earnings at a rate of 3.3% over the last few years.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

While the company did payout a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. This implies that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business.

Summary

Overall, we have mixed feelings about ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Up till now, we've only made a short study of the company's growth data. You can do your own research on ZheJiang KangLongDa Special Protection Technology and see how it has performed in the past by looking at this FREE detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.

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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.