Most readers would already be aware that Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group's (SHSE:601717) stock increased significantly by 16% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company's long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company's key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. In this article, we decided to focus on Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group's ROE.

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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

View our latest analysis for Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group is:

13% = CN¥2.4b ÷ CN¥18b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

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¥0.13 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. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE

At first glance, Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group seems to have a decent ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 8.1% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. Probably as a result of this, Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group was able to see an impressive net income growth of 31% over the last five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

We then compared Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 12% in the same period.

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. 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 Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group has a three-year median payout ratio of 29% (where it is retaining 71% of its income) which is not too low or not too high. So it seems that Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees impressive growth in its earnings (discussed above) and pays a dividend that's well covered.

Besides, Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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.