Can Plaisio Computers S.A. (ATH:PLAIS) Performance Keep Up Given Its Mixed Bag Of Fundamentals?

Most readers would already know that Plaisio Computers' (ATH:PLAIS) stock increased by 3.6% over the past month. Given that the stock prices usually follow long-term business performance, we wonder if the company's mixed financials could have any adverse effect on its current price price movement In this article, we decided to focus on Plaisio Computers' 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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

View our latest analysis for Plaisio Computers

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Plaisio Computers is:

2.3% = €2.1m ÷ €93m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each €1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made €0.02 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Plaisio Computers' Earnings Growth And 2.3% ROE

As you can see, Plaisio Computers' ROE looks pretty weak. Not just that, even compared to the industry average of 11%, the company's ROE is entirely unremarkable. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 28% seen by Plaisio Computers 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.

That being said, we compared Plaisio Computers' performance with the industry and were concerned when we found that while the company has shrunk its earnings, the industry has grown its earnings at a rate of 3.3% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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 Plaisio Computers''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Plaisio Computers Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

In spite of a normal three-year median payout ratio of 31% (that is, a retention ratio of 69%), the fact that Plaisio Computers' earnings have shrunk is quite puzzling. It looks like there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

In addition, Plaisio Computers 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. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 32% of its profits over the next three years. Regardless, the future ROE for Plaisio Computers is predicted to rise to 4.0% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Plaisio Computers can be open to many interpretations. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. 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. 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.
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