Declining Stock and Solid Fundamentals: Is The Market Wrong About Wanda Film Holding Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002739)?

Wanda Film Holding (SZSE:002739) has had a rough three months with its share price down 31%. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. In this article, we decided to focus on Wanda Film Holding's ROE.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Wanda Film Holding

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity 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 Wanda Film Holding is:

11% = CN¥941m ÷ CN¥8.4b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.11 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

Wanda Film Holding's Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

To start with, Wanda Film Holding's ROE looks acceptable. Especially when compared to the industry average of 5.6% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This certainly adds some context to Wanda Film Holding's exceptional 20% 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.

As a next step, we compared Wanda Film Holding's net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 4.8%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. 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 Wanda Film Holding is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Wanda Film Holding Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Given that Wanda Film Holding doesn't pay any regular dividends to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Wanda Film Holding'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. We also studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that the company's earnings growth is expected be similar to its current growth rate. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

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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.

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