Are Strong Financial Prospects The Force That Is Driving The Momentum In RPG Life Sciences Limited's NSE:RPGLIFE) Stock?

RPG Life Sciences' (NSE:RPGLIFE) stock is up by a considerable 15% over the past three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to RPG Life Sciences' 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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for RPG Life Sciences

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 RPG Life Sciences is:

18% = ₹361m ÷ ₹2.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every ₹1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated ₹0.18 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of RPG Life Sciences' Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

To begin with, RPG Life Sciences seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 14%. This probably laid the ground for RPG Life Sciences' moderate 18% net income growth seen over the past five years.

We then performed a comparison between RPG Life Sciences' net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 16% in the same period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. If you're wondering about RPG Life Sciences''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is RPG Life Sciences Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

In RPG Life Sciences' case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 23% (or a retention ratio of 77%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Besides, RPG Life Sciences has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with RPG Life Sciences' 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 sizeable growth in its earnings. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Let's not forget, business risk is also one of the factors that affects the price of the stock. So this is also an important area that investors need to pay attention to before making a decision on any business. To know the 2 risks we have identified for RPG Life Sciences visit our risks dashboard for free.

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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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