Will Weakness in The Phoenix Mills Limited's (NSE:PHOENIXLTD) Stock Prove Temporary Given Strong Fundamentals?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Phoenix Mills' (NSE:PHOENIXLTD) recent performance, when its stock has declined 7.8% 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. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Phoenix Mills' ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

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How To Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Phoenix Mills is:

9.5% = ₹13b ÷ ₹139b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every ₹1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn ₹0.09 in profit.

View our latest analysis for Phoenix Mills

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. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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 Phoenix Mills' Earnings Growth And 9.5% ROE

At first glance, Phoenix Mills' ROE doesn't look very promising. However, the fact that the company's ROE is higher than the average industry ROE of 7.5%, is definitely interesting. Particularly, the substantial 36% net income growth seen by Phoenix Mills over the past five years is impressive . That being said, the company does have a slightly low ROE to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. Hence, there might be some other aspects that are causing earnings to grow. Such as- high earnings retention or the company belonging to a high growth industry.

We then compared Phoenix Mills' net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 27% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Phoenix Mills is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Phoenix Mills Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Phoenix Mills has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 8.1%, meaning that it has the remaining 92% left over to reinvest into its business. So it looks like Phoenix Mills is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.

Besides, Phoenix Mills has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 7.4%. However, Phoenix Mills' ROE is predicted to rise to 13% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with Phoenix Mills' performance. Specifically, we like that it has been reinvesting a high portion of its profits at a moderate rate of return, resulting in earnings expansion. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.