With its stock down 15% over the past month, it is easy to disregard Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd (SHSE:600595). 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. In this article, we decided to focus on Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd'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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd is:

9.0% = CN¥1.4b ÷ CN¥15b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the profit 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. 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. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd's Earnings Growth And 9.0% ROE

When you first look at it, Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd's ROE doesn't look that attractive. Although a closer study shows that the company's ROE is higher than the industry average of 7.4% which we definitely can't overlook. Especially when you consider Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd's exceptional 60% net income growth over the past five years. Bear in mind, the company does have a moderately low ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is lower. Hence, there might be some other aspects that are causing earnings to grow. Such as- high earnings retention or the company belonging to a high growth industry.

As a next step, we compared Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd's net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 12%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Given that Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd doesn't pay any regular dividends to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Henan Zhongfu IndustrialLtd's performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that it has been reinvesting a high portion of its profits at a moderate rate of return, resulting in earnings expansion. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.