Is The Market Rewarding Rajshree Polypack Limited (NSE:RPPL) With A Negative Sentiment As A Result Of Its Mixed Fundamentals?

Rajshree Polypack (NSE:RPPL) has had a rough month with its share price down 19%. It seems that the market might have completely ignored the positive aspects of the company's fundamentals and decided to weigh-in more on the negative aspects. Fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes so it makes sense to study the company's financials. In this article, we decided to focus on Rajshree Polypack's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

View our latest analysis for Rajshree Polypack

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Rajshree Polypack is:

9.9% = ₹107m ÷ ₹1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. That means that for every ₹1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated ₹0.10 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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.

Rajshree Polypack's Earnings Growth And 9.9% ROE

At first glance, Rajshree Polypack's ROE doesn't look very promising. However, its ROE is similar to the industry average of 12%, so we won't completely dismiss the company. But Rajshree Polypack saw a five year net income decline of 2.2% over the past five years. Bear in mind, the company does have a slightly low ROE. So that's what might be causing earnings growth to shrink.

However, when we compared Rajshree Polypack's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 17% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Rajshree Polypack's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Rajshree Polypack Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Rajshree Polypack's low three-year median payout ratio of 12% (or a retention ratio of 88%) over the last three years should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings to fuel its growth but the company's earnings have actually shrunk. The low payout should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings and consequently, should see some growth. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For example, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Additionally, Rajshree Polypack has paid dividends over a period of three years, which means that the company's management is rather focused on keeping up its dividend payments, regardless of the shrinking earnings.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Rajshree Polypack can be open to many interpretations. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business. You can see the 4 risks we have identified for Rajshree Polypack by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

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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.