Most readers would already be aware that Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd's (SHSE:603328) stock increased significantly by 5.6% over the past week. 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. Specifically, we decided to study Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd's ROE in this article.

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.

View our latest analysis for Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd

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 Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd is:

9.2% = CN¥343m ÷ CN¥3.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.09.

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. 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 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.

Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd's Earnings Growth And 9.2% ROE

At first glance, Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd's ROE doesn't look very promising. Although a closer study shows that the company's ROE is higher than the industry average of 6.6% which we definitely can't overlook. But seeing Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd's five year net income decline of 25% over the past five years, we might rethink that. Bear in mind, the company does have a slightly low ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is lower. So that could be one of the factors that are causing earnings growth to shrink.

That being said, we compared Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd'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 11% 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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Despite having a normal three-year median payout ratio of 48% (where it is retaining 52% of its profits), Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd has seen a decline in earnings as we saw above. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Additionally, Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd has paid dividends over a period of nine years, which means that the company's management is rather focused on keeping up its dividend payments, regardless of the shrinking earnings.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a respectable rate of return and is reinvesting a huge portion of its profits. By the looks of it, there could be some other factors, not necessarily in control of the business, that's preventing growth. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. To know the 2 risks we have identified for Guangdong Ellington Electronics TechnologyLtd visit our risks dashboard for free.

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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.