Most readers would already be aware that Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd's (SHSE:688720) stock increased significantly by 50% over the past month. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd's ROE today.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd is:

3.5% = CN¥35m ÷ CN¥1.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax 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¥0.04 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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.

Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd's Earnings Growth And 3.5% ROE

It is quite clear that Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd's ROE is rather low. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 5.9%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. However, the moderate 12% net income growth seen by Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd over the past five years is definitely a positive. Therefore, the growth in earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 17% over the last few years, which is not something we like to see.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd has a three-year median payout ratio of 31%, which implies that it retains the remaining 69% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

While Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd 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.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Jiangsu Aisen Semiconductor MaterialLtd certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Specifically, its fairly high earnings growth number, which no doubt was backed by the company's high earnings retention. Still, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping a lot of benefit to the investors. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page 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.