Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:600618) Stock On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Momentum?

Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical (SHSE:600618) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 15% over the last 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 Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical's ROE today.

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.

See our latest analysis for Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical

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 Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical is:

9.2% = CN¥823m ÷ CN¥8.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.09.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned 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.

Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical's Earnings Growth And 9.2% ROE

At first glance, Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical's ROE doesn't look very promising. However, the fact that the company's ROE is higher than the average industry ROE of 6.3%, is definitely interesting. Yet, Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical has posted measly growth of 4.4% over the past five years. Remember, the company's ROE is quite low to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. Hence, this goes some way in explaining the low earnings growth.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 7.8% over the last few years, which is not something we like to see.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

While Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical has a decent three-year median payout ratio of 26% (or a retention ratio of 74%), it has seen very little growth in earnings. Therefore, there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

In addition, Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical has been paying dividends over a period of at least ten years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is way more important to the management even if it comes at the cost of business growth.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical has some positive attributes. Although, we are disappointed to see a lack of growth in earnings even in spite of a moderate ROE and and a high reinvestment rate. We believe that there might be some outside factors that could be having a negative impact on the business. 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. Our risks dashboard would have the 2 risks we have identified for Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.