Do Its Financials Have Any Role To Play In Driving China Shenhua Energy Company Limited's (HKG:1088) Stock Up Recently?

China Shenhua Energy (HKG:1088) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 11% 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 China Shenhua Energy's ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

See our latest analysis for China Shenhua Energy

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 China Shenhua Energy is:

18% = CN¥85b ÷ CN¥472b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each HK$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made HK$0.18 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

China Shenhua Energy's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

To start with, China Shenhua Energy's ROE looks acceptable. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 17%. This probably goes some way in explaining China Shenhua Energy's moderate 5.7% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.

We then compared China Shenhua Energy's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 23% in the same period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. Is 1088 fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is China Shenhua Energy Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

While China Shenhua Energy has a three-year median payout ratio of 75% (which means it retains 25% of profits), the company has still seen a fair bit of earnings growth in the past, meaning that its high payout ratio hasn't hampered its ability to grow.

Besides, China Shenhua Energy has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 80%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 16%.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like China Shenhua Energy has some positive aspects to its business. The company has grown its earnings moderately as previously discussed. Still, the high ROE could have been even more beneficial to investors had the company been reinvesting more of its profits. As highlighted earlier, the current reinvestment rate appears to be quite low. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.