Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology's (SZSE:300576) stock is up by a considerable 17% over the past three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology's ROE today.

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

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 Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology is:

8.0% = CN¥103m ÷ CN¥1.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.08 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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. 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.

Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology's Earnings Growth And 8.0% ROE

When you first look at it, Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, the fact that the its ROE is quite higher to the industry average of 6.2% doesn't go unnoticed by us. This probably goes some way in explaining Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology's moderate 16% growth over the past five years amongst other factors. That being said, the company does have a slightly low ROE to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. Hence there might be some other aspects that are causing earnings to grow. E.g the company has a low payout ratio or could belong to a high growth industry.

As a next step, we compared Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology's net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 8.4%.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

In Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 21% (or a retention ratio of 79%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Moreover, Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of seven years of paying a dividend.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology's performance has been quite good. In particular, it's great to see that the company has seen significant growth in its earnings backed by a respectable ROE and a high reinvestment rate. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Let's not forget, business risk is also one of the factors that affects the price of the stock. So this is also an important area that investors need to pay attention to before making a decision on any business. Our risks dashboard would have the 3 risks we have identified for Shenzhen RongDa Photosensitive Science & Technology.

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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.