Is Delta Plus Group's (EPA:DLTA) Stock's Recent Performance Being Led By Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

Delta Plus Group (EPA:DLTA) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 8.6% over the last month. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Specifically, we decided to study Delta Plus Group's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for Delta Plus Group

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 Delta Plus Group is:

18% = €27m ÷ €151m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each €1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made €0.18 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learnt that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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.

Delta Plus Group's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

To start with, Delta Plus Group's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 10%. Probably as a result of this, Delta Plus Group was able to see a decent growth of 17% over the last five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Delta Plus Group's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 9.8% in the same period, which is great to see.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for DLTA? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Delta Plus Group Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Delta Plus Group's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 23% (implying that it retains 77% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Additionally, Delta Plus Group 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. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 23%. Regardless, Delta Plus Group's ROE is speculated to decline to 13% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Delta Plus Group's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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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