Digital Daesung Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:068930) Stock's On An Uptrend: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?

Most readers would already be aware that Digital Daesung's (KOSDAQ:068930) stock increased significantly by 12% over the past week. 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. Specifically, we decided to study Digital Daesung's 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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

View our latest analysis for Digital Daesung

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Digital Daesung is:

15% = ₩15b ÷ ₩99b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every ₩1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ₩0.15.

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.

Digital Daesung's Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

At first glance, Digital Daesung seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 8.2%. This probably laid the ground for Digital Daesung's moderate 19% net income growth seen over the past five years.

We then compared Digital Daesung's 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 10.0% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Digital Daesung fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Digital Daesung Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Digital Daesung has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 44% (or a retention ratio of 56%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.

While Digital Daesung has seen growth in its earnings, it only recently started to pay a dividend. It is most likely that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 28% over the next three years. The fact that the company's ROE is expected to rise to 20% over the same period is explained by the drop in the payout ratio.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with Digital Daesung's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. 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. 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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