China Science Publishing & Media (SHSE:601858) has had a rough month with its share price down 29%. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Particularly, we will be paying attention to China Science Publishing & Media's ROE today.

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.

See our latest analysis for China Science Publishing & Media

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 China Science Publishing & Media is:

9.9% = CN¥493m ÷ CN¥5.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.10 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.

China Science Publishing & Media's Earnings Growth And 9.9% ROE

At first glance, China Science Publishing & Media's ROE doesn't look very promising. However, the fact that the company's ROE is higher than the average industry ROE of 6.1%, is definitely interesting. Still, China Science Publishing & Media's net income growth of 2.4% over the past five years was mediocre at best. Remember, the company's ROE is quite low to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. Therefore, the low growth in earnings could also be the result of this.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that China Science Publishing & Media's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 1.6% in the same period, which is great to see.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is China Science Publishing & Media fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is China Science Publishing & Media Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Despite having a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 43% (implying that the company retains the remaining 57% of its income), China Science Publishing & Media's earnings growth was quite low. Therefore, there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

In addition, China Science Publishing & Media has been paying dividends over a period of seven years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is way more important to the management even if it comes at the cost of business growth.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with China Science Publishing & Media's performance. Specifically, we like that it has been reinvesting a high portion of its profits at a moderate rate of return, resulting in earnings expansion. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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.