It is hard to get excited after looking at Nanofilm Technologies International's (SGX:MZH) recent performance, when its stock has declined 19% over the past three months. 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. Specifically, we decided to study Nanofilm Technologies International's ROE in this article.

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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

View our latest analysis for Nanofilm Technologies International

How Do You 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 Nanofilm Technologies International is:

13% = S$63m ÷ S$471m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. Another way to think of that is that for every SGD1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn SGD0.13 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

Nanofilm Technologies International's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE

To start with, Nanofilm Technologies International's ROE looks acceptable. Even when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 20% seen over the past five years by Nanofilm Technologies International.

We then compared Nanofilm Technologies International'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 3.7% in the same period.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. 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 Nanofilm Technologies International is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Nanofilm Technologies International Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Nanofilm Technologies International has a low three-year median payout ratio of 22%, meaning that the company retains the remaining 78% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business.

Along with seeing a growth in earnings, Nanofilm Technologies International 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 22%. As a result, Nanofilm Technologies International's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 14% for future ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Nanofilm Technologies International'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. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.