With its stock down 16% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd (SZSE:300382). However, the company's fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. In this article, we decided to focus on Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd's ROE.

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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd is:

5.0% = CN¥116m ÷ CN¥2.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.05 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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.

Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd's Earnings Growth And 5.0% ROE

When you first look at it, Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd's ROE doesn't look that attractive. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 7.5%. Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd was still able to see a decent net income growth of 11% over the past five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. 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 Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 11% over the last few years.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd has a three-year median payout ratio of 26%, which implies that it retains the remaining 74% 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, Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd 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.

Summary

In total, it does look like Suzhou SLAC Precision EquipmentLtd has some positive aspects to its business. 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. 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.