It is hard to get excited after looking at Hainan Airport Infrastructure's (SHSE:600515) recent performance, when its stock has declined 6.2% 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 Hainan Airport Infrastructure's ROE today.

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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

View our latest analysis for Hainan Airport Infrastructure

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 Hainan Airport Infrastructure is:

4.2% = CN¥1.1b ÷ CN¥25b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.04 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. 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.

Hainan Airport Infrastructure's Earnings Growth And 4.2% ROE

It is quite clear that Hainan Airport Infrastructure's ROE is rather low. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 5.5%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. Thus, the low net income growth of 3.9% seen by Hainan Airport Infrastructure over the past five years could probably be the result of it having a lower ROE.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that the growth figure reported by Hainan Airport Infrastructure compares quite favourably to the industry average, which shows a decline of 4.2% over the last few years.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. 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 Hainan Airport Infrastructure is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Hainan Airport Infrastructure Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Hainan Airport Infrastructure doesn't pay any dividend, which means that it is retaining all of its earnings. This doesn't explain the low earnings growth number that we discussed above. Therefore, there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that Hainan Airport Infrastructure certainly does have some positive factors to consider. 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 are expected to accelerate. 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.