Binjiang Service Group (HKG:3316) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 17% over the last three months. Since the market usually pay for a company's long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company's key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. In this article, we decided to focus on Binjiang Service Group'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 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 Binjiang Service Group is:

37% = CN¥538m ÷ CN¥1.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each HK$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made HK$0.37 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. 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 Binjiang Service Group's Earnings Growth And 37% ROE

Firstly, we acknowledge that Binjiang Service Group has a significantly high ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 7.4% which is quite remarkable. Under the circumstances, Binjiang Service Group's considerable five year net income growth of 30% was to be expected.

We then compared Binjiang Service Group's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 3.9% in the same 5-year period.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Has the market priced in the future outlook for 3316? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Binjiang Service Group Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

The high three-year median payout ratio of 59% (implying that it keeps only 41% of profits) for Binjiang Service Group suggests that the company's growth wasn't really hampered despite it returning most of the earnings to its shareholders.

Additionally, Binjiang Service Group has paid dividends over a period of six years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Binjiang Service Group's performance. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.