Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group) (SHSE:603066) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 21% over the last three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group)'s ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group) is:

9.8% = CN¥139m ÷ CN¥1.4b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.10 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. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group)'s Earnings Growth And 9.8% ROE

At first glance, Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group)'s ROE doesn't look very promising. However, the fact that the its ROE is quite higher to the industry average of 7.0% doesn't go unnoticed by us. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 12% seen over the past five years by Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group). Bear in mind, the company does have a moderately low ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is lower. Therefore, the growth in earnings could also be the result of other factors. Such as- high earnings retention or the company belonging to a high growth industry.

As a next step, we compared Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group)'s net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 8.7%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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 Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group)'s's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group) Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

In Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group)'s case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 20% (or a retention ratio of 80%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Besides, Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group) has been paying dividends over a period of nine years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group)'s performance. 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. 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. Let's not forget, business risk is also one of the factors that affects the price of the stock. So this is also an important area that investors need to pay attention to before making a decision on any business. Our risks dashboard will have the 1 risk we have identified for Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment (Group).

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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.