Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd's (SZSE:002602) stock is up by a considerable 35% over the past three months. But the company's key financial indicators appear to be differing across the board and that makes us question whether or not the company's current share price momentum can be maintained. In this article, we decided to focus on Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

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 Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd is:

3.7% = CN¥995m ÷ CN¥27b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 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.

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. 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. 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.

Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd's Earnings Growth And 3.7% ROE

It is quite clear that Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd's ROE is rather low. An industry comparison shows that the company's ROE is not much different from the industry average of 4.4% either. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 42% seen by Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd was possibly a result of the disappointing ROE.

That being said, we compared Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd's performance with the industry and were concerned when we found that while the company has shrunk its earnings, the industry has grown its earnings at a rate of 4.8% in the same 5-year period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you're wondering about Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd doesn't pay any regular dividends, meaning that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business, which doesn't explain why the company's earnings have shrunk if it is retaining all of its profits. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Conclusion

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Zhejiang Century Huatong GroupLtd's performance. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. 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.