Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology (SHSE:688389) has had a rough month with its share price down 11%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company's financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. In this article, we decided to focus on Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology's ROE.

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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology is:

18% = CN¥346m ÷ CN¥1.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.18 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company's earnings growth potential. 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 Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

To begin with, Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 7.4% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This certainly adds some context to Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology's exceptional 28% net income growth seen over the past five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

As a next step, we compared Shenzhen Lifotronic 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 6.5%.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. What is 688389 worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether 688389 is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology has a three-year median payout ratio of 36% (where it is retaining 64% 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 Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Additionally, Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology has paid dividends over a period of four years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Shenzhen Lifotronic Technology's performance. 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. We also studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that the company's earnings growth is expected be similar to its current growth rate. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com