Do Its Financials Have Any Role To Play In Driving Laboratorio Reig Jofre, S.A.'s (BME:RJF) Stock Up Recently?

Laboratorio Reig Jofre (BME:RJF) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 15% over the last month. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. In this article, we decided to focus on Laboratorio Reig Jofre's ROE.

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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

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How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Laboratorio Reig Jofre is:

3.0% = €6.5m ÷ €216m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every €1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated €0.03 in profit.

See our latest analysis for Laboratorio Reig Jofre

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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. 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.

Laboratorio Reig Jofre's Earnings Growth And 3.0% ROE

As you can see, Laboratorio Reig Jofre's ROE looks pretty weak. Not just that, even compared to the industry average of 13%, the company's ROE is entirely unremarkable. Laboratorio Reig Jofre was still able to see a decent net income growth of 13% over the past five years. We believe that there might 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 Laboratorio Reig Jofre'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 9.0% in the same 5-year period.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Laboratorio Reig Jofre's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Laboratorio Reig Jofre Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Laboratorio Reig Jofre has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 38% (or a retention ratio of 62%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.

Additionally, Laboratorio Reig Jofre has paid dividends over a period of four years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Summary

In total, it does look like Laboratorio Reig Jofre has some positive aspects to its business. Despite its low rate of return, the fact that the company reinvests a very high portion of its profits into its business, no doubt contributed to its high earnings growth. 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. You can see the 2 risks we have identified for Laboratorio Reig Jofre by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

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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.