Data Patterns (India) Limited's (NSE:DATAPATTNS) Fundamentals Look Pretty Strong: Could The Market Be Wrong About The Stock?

With its stock down 8.1% over the past month, it is easy to disregard Data Patterns (India) (NSE:DATAPATTNS). But if you pay close attention, you might find that its key financial indicators look quite decent, which could mean that the stock could potentially rise in the long-term given how markets usually reward more resilient long-term fundamentals. Specifically, we decided to study Data Patterns (India)'s 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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Data Patterns (India)

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Data Patterns (India) is:

14% = ₹1.9b ÷ ₹13b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every ₹1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ₹0.14.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Data Patterns (India)'s Earnings Growth And 14% ROE

On the face of it, Data Patterns (India)'s ROE is not much to talk about. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 14%. Particularly, the exceptional 32% net income growth seen by Data Patterns (India) over the past five years is pretty remarkable. Taking into consideration that the ROE is not particularly high, we reckon that there could also be other factors at play which could be influencing the company's growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

We then compared Data Patterns (India)'s 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 22% in the same 5-year 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. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Data Patterns (India) is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Data Patterns (India) Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Data Patterns (India)'s ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 18% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (82%) of its profits. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.

While Data Patterns (India) has seen growth in its earnings, it only recently started to pay a dividend. It is most likely that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 12% over the next three years. As a result, the expected drop in Data Patterns (India)'s payout ratio explains the anticipated rise in the company's future ROE to 17%, over the same period.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that Data Patterns (India) certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Despite its low rate of return, the fact that the company reinvests a very high portion of its profits into its business, no doubt contributed to its high earnings growth. 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. 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. 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.