Hygon Information Technology's (SHSE:688041) stock is up by 4.0% over the past three months. Given its impressive performance, we decided to study the company's key financial indicators as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Specifically, we decided to study Hygon Information Technology'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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Hygon Information Technology is:

9.6% = CN¥2.0b ÷ CN¥21b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every CN¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CN¥0.10 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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. 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.

Hygon Information Technology's Earnings Growth And 9.6% ROE

On the face of it, Hygon Information Technology's ROE is not much to talk about. However, the fact that the its ROE is quite higher to the industry average of 5.9% doesn't go unnoticed by us. Even more so after seeing Hygon Information Technology's exceptional 45% net income growth over the past five years. That being said, the company does have a slightly low ROE to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. So, there might well be other reasons for the earnings to grow. Such as- high earnings retention or the company belonging to a high growth industry.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Hygon Information Technology's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 16% in the same period, which is great to see.

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. If you're wondering about Hygon Information Technology's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Hygon Information Technology Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Hygon Information Technology has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 11%, meaning that it has the remaining 89% left over to reinvest into its business. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.

While Hygon Information Technology has seen growth in its earnings, it only recently started to pay a dividend. It is most likely 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 8.4%. As a result, Hygon Information Technology's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 11% for future ROE.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Hygon Information Technology's performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business at a moderate rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.

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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.