Most readers would already be aware that Nanjing LES Information Technology's (SHSE:688631) stock increased significantly by 75% over the past month. 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. Specifically, we decided to study Nanjing LES Information Technology's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Nanjing LES Information Technology is:

7.8% = CN¥141m ÷ CN¥1.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.08.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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 Nanjing LES Information Technology's Earnings Growth And 7.8% ROE

When you first look at it, Nanjing LES Information Technology's ROE doesn't look that attractive. Although a closer study shows that the company's ROE is higher than the industry average of 4.7% which we definitely can't overlook. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 17% seen over the past five years by Nanjing LES Information Technology. 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. For example, it is possible that the broader industry is going through a high growth phase, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Nanjing LES Information Technology's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 12% in the same period, which is great to see.

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. 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 Nanjing LES Information Technology is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Nanjing LES Information Technology Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Nanjing LES Information Technology has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 45% (or a retention ratio of 55%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.

While Nanjing LES Information Technology has been growing its earnings, it only recently started to pay dividends which likely means that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Nanjing LES Information 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. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts 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.