Is Sumitomo Chemical India Limited's (NSE:SUMICHEM) Recent Stock Performance Influenced By Its Fundamentals In Any Way?

Most readers would already be aware that Sumitomo Chemical India's (NSE:SUMICHEM) stock increased significantly by 11% over the past month. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. In this article, we decided to focus on Sumitomo Chemical India's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

See our latest analysis for Sumitomo Chemical India

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Sumitomo Chemical India is:

13% = ₹3.3b ÷ ₹25b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every ₹1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn ₹0.13 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. 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.

Sumitomo Chemical India's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE

When you first look at it, Sumitomo Chemical India's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 12%, we may spare it some thought. Having said that, Sumitomo Chemical India has shown a modest net income growth of 18% over the past five years. 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. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then performed a comparison between Sumitomo Chemical India's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 17% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Sumitomo Chemical India fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Sumitomo Chemical India Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Sumitomo Chemical India has a low three-year median payout ratio of 12%, meaning that the company retains the remaining 88% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business.

Moreover, Sumitomo Chemical India is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of four years of paying a dividend. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 12%. Still, forecasts suggest that Sumitomo Chemical India's future ROE will rise to 17% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.

Summary

In total, it does look like Sumitomo Chemical India has some positive aspects to its business. Even in spite of the low rate of return, the company has posted impressive earnings growth as a result of reinvesting heavily into its business. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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. 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.