Could The Market Be Wrong About Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Limited (NSE:VIJAYA) Given Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's (NSE:VIJAYA) recent performance, when its stock has declined 15% over the past month. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for Vijaya Diagnostic Centre

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 Vijaya Diagnostic Centre is:

18% = ₹1.3b ÷ ₹7.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

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

Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

At first glance, Vijaya Diagnostic Centre seems to have a decent ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 11% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This probably laid the ground for Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's moderate 8.6% net income growth seen over the past five years.

We then compared Vijaya Diagnostic Centre'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 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. 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 Vijaya Diagnostic Centre is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 9.3% (implying that it retains 91% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

While Vijaya Diagnostic Centre 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. 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 8.0%. Regardless, the future ROE for Vijaya Diagnostic Centre is predicted to rise to 23% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see a good amount of growth in its earnings. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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.