Most readers would already be aware that Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd's (SZSE:002565) stock increased significantly by 36% over the past three months. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. Specifically, we decided to study Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd's ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd is:

4.0% = CN¥84m ÷ CN¥2.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.04.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.

Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd's Earnings Growth And 4.0% ROE

It is hard to argue that Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd's ROE is much good in and of itself. Even when compared to the industry average of 5.4%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. In spite of this, Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd was able to grow its net income considerably, at a rate of 45% in the last five years. We believe that there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that the growth figure reported by Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd compares quite favourably to the industry average, which shows a decline of 0.005% over the last few years.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 56%, meaning the company only retains 44% of its income. This implies that the company has been able to achieve high earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Additionally, Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd has some positive attributes. While no doubt its earnings growth is pretty substantial, we do feel that the reinvestment rate is pretty low, meaning, the earnings growth number could have been significantly higher had the company been retaining more of its profits. Until now, we have only just grazed the surface of the company's past performance by looking at the company's fundamentals. To gain further insights into Shanghai Shunho New Materials TechnologyLtd's past profit growth, check out this visualization of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.

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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.