It is hard to get excited after looking at Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd's (SHSE:600576) recent performance, when its stock has declined 20% over the past three months. But if you pay close attention, you might find that its key financial indicators look quite decent, which could mean that the stock could potentially rise in the long-term given how markets usually reward more resilient long-term fundamentals. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd's ROE today.

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

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd is:

5.0% = CN¥143m ÷ CN¥2.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. Another way to think of that is that for every CN¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CN¥0.05 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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 everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd's Earnings Growth And 5.0% ROE

At first glance, Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd's ROE doesn't look very promising. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 5.1%, we may spare it some thought. Looking at Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd's exceptional 60% five-year net income growth in particular, we are definitely impressed. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

As a next step, we compared Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd'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 3.4%.

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. If you're wondering about Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd doesn't pay any regular dividends currently which essentially means that it has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This definitely contributes to the high earnings growth number that we discussed above.

Summary

In total, it does look like Zhejiang Sunriver Culture TourismLtd has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page 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.