Should You Be Impressed By Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA's (BVMF:CEEB3) ROE?

One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA (BVMF:CEEB3).

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA

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 Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA is:

20% = R$1.2b ÷ R$6.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every R$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of R$0.20.

Does Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA Have A Good Return On Equity?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA has a higher ROE than the average (16%) in the Electric Utilities industry.

That is a good sign. However, bear in mind that a high ROE doesn’t necessarily indicate efficient profit generation. A higher proportion of debt in a company's capital structure may also result in a high ROE, where the high debt levels could be a huge risk .

The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity

Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.

Combining Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA's Debt And Its 20% Return On Equity

Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA clearly uses a high amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.28. There's no doubt its ROE is decent, but the very high debt the company carries is not too exciting to see. Debt does bring extra risk, so it's only really worthwhile when a company generates some decent returns from it.

Conclusion

Return on equity is one way we can compare its business quality of different companies. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking this free this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Of course Companhiade Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia - COELBA may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt.

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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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