Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd (SHSE:603230) has had a rough three months with its share price down 21%. 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 Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd'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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

How Do You 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 Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd is:

11% = CN¥281m ÷ CN¥2.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

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¥0.11 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. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd's Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

At first glance, Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd seems to have a decent ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 7.8% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. Probably as a result of this, Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd was able to see a decent growth of 12% over the last five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 7.6% in the same period, which is great to see.

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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. 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 Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

In Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 18% (or a retention ratio of 82%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Along with seeing a growth in earnings, Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd only recently started paying dividends. Its quite possible that the company was looking to impress its shareholders.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Not to forget, share price outcomes are also dependent on the potential risks a company may face. So it is important for investors to be aware of the risks involved in the business. Our risks dashboard will have the 1 risk we have identified for Inner Mongolia Xinhua Distribution GroupLtd.

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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.