Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In KBJ S.A.'s (WSE:KBJ) Stock?

Most readers would already be aware that KBJ's (WSE:KBJ) stock increased significantly by 111% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to KBJ's ROE today.

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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for KBJ

How Do You 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 KBJ is:

25% = zł2.3m ÷ zł9.3m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each PLN1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made PLN0.25 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learnt that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

KBJ's Earnings Growth And 25% ROE

First thing first, we like that KBJ has an impressive ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 20% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. Probably as a result of this, KBJ was able to see a decent net income growth of 18% over the last five years.

We then compared KBJ'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 14% 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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about KBJ's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is KBJ Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

KBJ has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 26% (or a retention ratio of 74%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with KBJ'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. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Not to forget, share price outcomes are also dependent on the potential risks a company may face. So it is important for investors to be aware of the risks involved in the business. You can see the 4 risks we have identified for KBJ by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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. Thank you for reading.