With its stock down 7.3% over the past week, it is easy to disregard GemPharmatech (SHSE:688046). 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. Specifically, we decided to study GemPharmatech'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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for GemPharmatech is:

7.4% = CN¥157m ÷ CN¥2.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.07 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.

A Side By Side comparison of GemPharmatech's Earnings Growth And 7.4% ROE

At first glance, GemPharmatech's ROE doesn't look very promising. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 7.6%. Looking at GemPharmatech's exceptional 22% five-year net income growth in particular, we are definitely impressed. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then performed a comparison between GemPharmatech's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 22% 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 688046? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is GemPharmatech Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

GemPharmatech's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 10%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 90% of its profits. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.

While GemPharmatech 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. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 9.5%. Still, forecasts suggest that GemPharmatech's future ROE will rise to 11% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.

Summary

In total, it does look like GemPharmatech 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. On studying current analyst estimates, we found that analysts expect the company to continue its recent growth streak. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.