Harbin Boshi Automation (SZSE:002698) has had a rough three months with its share price down 26%. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. In this article, we decided to focus on Harbin Boshi Automation's ROE.

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

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 Harbin Boshi Automation is:

15% = CN¥553m ÷ CN¥3.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every CN¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CN¥0.15 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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. 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.

Harbin Boshi Automation's Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

To start with, Harbin Boshi Automation's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 6.9%. This certainly adds some context to Harbin Boshi Automation's decent 14% net income growth seen over the past five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Harbin Boshi Automation's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 9.5% in the same period, which is great to see.

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). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Harbin Boshi Automation's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Harbin Boshi Automation Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

While Harbin Boshi Automation has a three-year median payout ratio of 51% (which means it retains 49% of profits), the company has still seen a fair bit of earnings growth in the past, meaning that its high payout ratio hasn't hampered its ability to grow.

Additionally, Harbin Boshi Automation 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.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Harbin Boshi Automation's performance. We are particularly impressed by the considerable earnings growth posted by the company, which was likely backed by its high ROE. While the company is paying out most of its earnings as dividends, it has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's probably a good sign. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. 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.

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