Honda India Power Products Limited's (NSE:HONDAPOWER) Stock Is Going Strong: Have Financials A Role To Play?

Most readers would already be aware that Honda India Power Products' (NSE:HONDAPOWER) stock increased significantly by 26% over the past three months. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Honda India Power Products' 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 Honda India Power Products

How Is ROE Calculated?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Honda India Power Products is:

12% = ₹665m ÷ ₹5.7b (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 ₹1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made ₹0.12 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. 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.

Honda India Power Products' Earnings Growth And 12% ROE

At first glance, Honda India Power Products' ROE doesn't look very promising. However, the fact that the company's ROE is higher than the average industry ROE of 9.4%, is definitely interesting. This probably goes some way in explaining Honda India Power Products' moderate 8.3% growth over the past five years amongst other factors. That being said, the company does have a slightly low ROE to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. So there might well be other reasons for the earnings to grow. For example, it is possible that the broader industry is going through a high growth phase, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Honda India Power Products' reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 13% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Honda India Power Products fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Honda India Power Products Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Honda India Power Products has a low three-year median payout ratio of 17%, meaning that the company retains the remaining 83% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business.

Additionally, Honda India Power Products has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that Honda India Power Products has some positive attributes. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a moderate rate of return, that has resulted in a respectable growth in its earnings. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. To know the 3 risks we have identified for Honda India Power Products visit our risks dashboard for free.

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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.
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