Declining Stock and Solid Fundamentals: Is The Market Wrong About FDC Limited (NSE:FDC)?

It is hard to get excited after looking at FDC's (NSE:FDC) recent performance, when its stock has declined 13% over the past three months. 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. Specifically, we decided to study FDC's ROE in this article.

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.

View our latest analysis for FDC

How To 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 FDC is:

18% = ₹3.1b ÷ ₹17b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each ₹1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made ₹0.18 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. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of FDC's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

At first glance, FDC seems to have a decent ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 14% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This probably laid the ground for FDC's moderate 12% net income growth seen over the past five years.

As a next step, we compared FDC's net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 16% in the same period.

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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is FDC fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is FDC Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

In FDC's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 4.4% (or a retention ratio of 96%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Moreover, FDC is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with FDC's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a respectable growth in its earnings. The latest industry analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to maintain its current growth rate. 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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