Are Space Group Holdings Limited's (HKG:2448) Mixed Financials Driving The Negative Sentiment?

Space Group Holdings (HKG:2448) has had a rough three months with its share price down 22%. It is possible that the markets have ignored the company's differing financials and decided to lean-in to the negative sentiment. Fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes so it makes sense to study the company's financials. Specifically, we decided to study Space Group Holdings' ROE in this article.

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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for Space Group Holdings

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 Space Group Holdings is:

6.5% = MO$42m ÷ MO$647m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every HK$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn HK$0.07 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. 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.

Space Group Holdings' Earnings Growth And 6.5% ROE

When you first look at it, Space Group Holdings' ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 7.1%, we may spare it some thought. Having said that, Space Group Holdings' five year net income decline rate was 13%. Bear in mind, the company does have a slightly low ROE. So that's what might be causing earnings growth to shrink.

As a next step, we compared Space Group Holdings' performance with the industry and found thatSpace Group Holdings' performance is depressing even when compared with the industry, which has shrunk its earnings at a rate of 3.2% in the same period, which is a slower than the company.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. If you're wondering about Space Group Holdings''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Space Group Holdings Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Space Group Holdings doesn't pay any dividend, meaning that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business, which doesn't explain why the company's earnings have shrunk if it is retaining all of its profits. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Space Group Holdings can be open to many interpretations. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business. Our risks dashboard would have the 2 risks we have identified for Space Group Holdings.

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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.