Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited's (HKG:1883) Stock?

CITIC Telecom International Holdings (HKG:1883) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 12% over the last month. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to CITIC Telecom International Holdings' ROE today.

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.

See our latest analysis for CITIC Telecom International 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 CITIC Telecom International Holdings is:

11% = HK$1.0b ÷ HK$9.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

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$0.11 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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. 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.

CITIC Telecom International Holdings' Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

To begin with, CITIC Telecom International Holdings seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 3.8% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This certainly adds some context to CITIC Telecom International Holdings' decent 5.1% net income growth seen over the past five years.

We then compared CITIC Telecom International Holdings' 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 3.7% in the same period.

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 CITIC Telecom International Holdings''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is CITIC Telecom International Holdings Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

While CITIC Telecom International Holdings has a three-year median payout ratio of 70% (which means it retains 30% 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.

Additionally, CITIC Telecom International Holdings has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 73%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that CITIC Telecom International Holdings' future ROE will be 10% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that CITIC Telecom International Holdings' performance has been quite good. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page 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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