Sansec Technology (SHSE:688489) has had a rough month with its share price down 15%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company's financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Sansec Technology's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for Sansec Technology

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Sansec Technology is:

6.3% = CN¥122m ÷ CN¥1.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.06 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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.

Sansec Technology's Earnings Growth And 6.3% ROE

On the face of it, Sansec Technology's ROE is not much to talk about. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 6.3%, we may spare it some thought. Particularly, the exceptional 30% net income growth seen by Sansec Technology over the past five years is pretty remarkable. Considering the moderately low ROE, it is quite possible that there might be some other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Sansec Technology's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 13% in the same period, which is great to see.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 Sansec Technology is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Sansec Technology Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Sansec Technology has a three-year median payout ratio of 26% (where it is retaining 74% of its income) which is not too low or not too high. So it seems that Sansec Technology is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees impressive growth in its earnings (discussed above) and pays a dividend that's well covered.

Along with seeing a growth in earnings, Sansec Technology only recently started paying dividends. Its quite possible that the company was looking to impress its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 30%. However, Sansec Technology's ROE is predicted to rise to 11% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Sansec Technology has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. We also studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that the company's earnings growth is expected be similar to its current growth rate. 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.