LifeTech Scientific Corporation (HKG:1302) On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Stock?

LifeTech Scientific's (HKG:1302) stock up by 8.8% over the past three months. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Specifically, we decided to study LifeTech Scientific's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for LifeTech Scientific

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for LifeTech Scientific is:

2.4% = CN¥81m ÷ CN¥3.4b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every HK$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of HK$0.02.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

LifeTech Scientific's Earnings Growth And 2.4% ROE

It is quite clear that LifeTech Scientific's ROE is rather low. Even when compared to the industry average of 7.8%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. LifeTech Scientific was still able to see a decent net income growth of 14% over the past five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing LifeTech Scientific's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 15% over the last few years.

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. Is LifeTech Scientific fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is LifeTech Scientific Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

LifeTech Scientific doesn't pay any regular dividends currently which essentially means that it has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This definitely contributes to the decent earnings growth number that we discussed above.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that LifeTech Scientific has some positive attributes. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

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

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.