This article is intended for those of you who are at the beginning of your investing journey and want to better understand how you can grow your money by investing in Page Industries Limited (BOM:532827).
Page Industries Limited (BOM:532827) delivered an ROE of 40.95% over the past 12 months, which is an impressive feat relative to its industry average of 7.50% during the same period. Though, the impressiveness of 532827’s ROE is contingent on whether this industry-beating level can be sustained. Sustainability can be gauged by a company’s financial leverage – the more debt it has, the higher ROE is pumped up in the short term, at the expense of long term interest payment burden. Let me show you what I mean by this. Check out our latest analysis for Page Industries
Breaking down Return on Equity
Return on Equity (ROE) is a measure of Page Industries’s profit relative to its shareholders’ equity. It essentially shows how much the company can generate in earnings given the amount of equity it has raised. Investors seeking to maximise their return in the Apparel, Accessories and Luxury Goods industry may want to choose the highest returning stock. However, this can be misleading as each firm has different costs of equity and debt levels i.e. the more debt Page Industries has, the higher ROE is pumped up in the short term, at the expense of long term interest payment burden.
Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders Equity
ROE is measured against cost of equity in order to determine the efficiency of Page Industries’s equity capital deployed. Its cost of equity is 13.55%. Since Page Industries’s return covers its cost in excess of 27.41%, its use of equity capital is efficient and likely to be sustainable. Simply put, Page Industries pays less for its capital than what it generates in return. ROE can be broken down into three different ratios: net profit margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage. This is called the Dupont Formula:
Dupont Formula
ROE = profit margin × asset turnover × financial leverage
ROE = (annual net profit ÷ sales) × (sales ÷ assets) × (assets ÷ shareholders’ equity)
ROE = annual net profit ÷ shareholders’ equity
The first component is profit margin, which measures how much of sales is retained after the company pays for all its expenses. Asset turnover reveals how much revenue can be generated from Page Industries’s asset base. And finally, financial leverage is simply how much of assets are funded by equity, which exhibits how sustainable the company’s capital structure is. ROE can be inflated by disproportionately high levels of debt. This is also unsustainable due to the high interest cost that the company will also incur. Thus, we should look at Page Industries’s debt-to-equity ratio to examine sustainability of its returns. Currently the ratio stands at 5.85%, which is very low. This means Page Industries has not taken on leverage, and its above-average ROE is driven by its ability to grow its profit without a huge debt burden.
Next Steps:
ROE is a simple yet informative ratio, illustrating the various components that each measure the quality of the overall stock. Page Industries exhibits a strong ROE against its peers, as well as sufficient returns to cover its cost of equity. Its high ROE is not likely to be driven by high debt. Therefore, investors may have more confidence in the sustainability of this level of returns going forward. ROE is a helpful signal, but it is definitely not sufficient on its own to make an investment decision.
For Page Industries, I’ve put together three pertinent aspects you should further research:
- Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.
- Valuation: What is Page Industries worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Page Industries is currently mispriced by the market.
- Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Page Industries? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!