Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd's (SHSE:600054) stock is up by a considerable 15% over the past three months. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd is:

6.7% = CN¥326m ÷ CN¥4.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

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¥0.07 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.

Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd's Earnings Growth And 6.7% ROE

When you first look at it, Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd's ROE doesn't look that attractive. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 8.0%. Having said that, Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd has shown a modest net income growth of 13% over the past five years. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 11% in the same period, which is great to see.

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 Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd has a three-year median payout ratio of 38%, which implies that it retains the remaining 62% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Moreover, Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 32% of its profits over the next three years. However, Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd's ROE is predicted to rise to 8.2% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Huangshan Tourism DevelopmentLtd certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Despite its low rate of return, the fact that the company reinvests a very high portion of its profits into its business, no doubt contributed to its high earnings growth. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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.