Are Hunan Mendale Hometextile Co.,Ltd's (SZSE:002397) Mixed Financials Driving The Negative Sentiment?

With its stock down 23% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd (SZSE:002397). It is possible that the markets have ignored the company's differing financials and decided to lean-in to the negative sentiment. Stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, and therefore we decided to pay more attention to the company's financial performance. In this article, we decided to focus on Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

Check out our latest analysis for Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd

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 Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd is:

1.8% = CN¥21m ÷ CN¥1.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every CN¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CN¥0.02 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. 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 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.

Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd's Earnings Growth And 1.8% ROE

It is quite clear that Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd's ROE is rather low. Not just that, even compared to the industry average of 7.4%, the company's ROE is entirely unremarkable. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 55% seen by Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd was possibly a result of it having a lower ROE. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company's earnings prospects. For example, the business has allocated capital poorly, or that the company has a very high payout ratio.

However, when we compared Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 1.3% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. If you're wondering about Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

While the company did payout a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a regular dividend. This implies that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business.

Summary

Overall, we have mixed feelings about Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. Until now, we have only just grazed the surface of the company's past performance by looking at the company's fundamentals. So it may be worth checking this free detailed graph of Hunan Mendale HometextileLtd's past earnings, as well as revenue and cash flows to get a deeper insight into the company's performance.

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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.