Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:600133) Stock's On An Uptrend: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?

Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group's (SHSE:600133) stock is up by a considerable 60% 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. In this article, we decided to focus on Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group

How To 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 Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group is:

13% = CN¥1.2b ÷ CN¥9.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every CN¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CN¥0.13 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

A Side By Side comparison of Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE

At first glance, Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 6.9%. This certainly adds some context to Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group's exceptional 24% net income growth seen over the past five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

We then compared Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group'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 6.4% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. If you're wondering about Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 18%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 82% of its profits. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.

Additionally, Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group has paid dividends over a period of six years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group's performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. 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. Remember, the price of a stock is also dependent on the perceived risk. Therefore investors must keep themselves informed about the risks involved before investing in any company. Our risks dashboard would have the 3 risks we have identified for Wuhan East Lake High Technology Group.

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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.