MPS Limited's (NSE:MPSLTD) Financials Are Too Obscure To Link With Current Share Price Momentum: What's In Store For the Stock?

MPS (NSE:MPSLTD) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 34% over the last month. But the company's key financial indicators appear to be differing across the board and that makes us question whether or not the company's current share price momentum can be maintained. Specifically, we decided to study MPS' 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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for MPS

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 MPS is:

14% = ₹551m ÷ ₹3.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

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

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

MPS' Earnings Growth And 14% ROE

When you first look at it, MPS' ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, its ROE is similar to the industry average of 13%, so we won't completely dismiss the company. Having said that, MPS' five year net income decline rate was 3.4%. Remember, the company's ROE is a bit low to begin with. Therefore, the decline in earnings could also be the result of this.

However, when we compared MPS' growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 7.4% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

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). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is MPSLTD fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is MPS Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

While the company did payout a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. This implies that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business.

Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 73% over the next three years. However, MPS' future ROE is expected to rise to 22% despite the expected increase in the company's payout ratio. We infer that there could be other factors that could be driving the anticipated growth in the company's ROE.

Summary

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about MPS' performance. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. With that said, we studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that while the company has shrunk its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to grow in the future. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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