Bokwang Industry Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:225530) Fundamentals Look Pretty Strong: Could The Market Be Wrong About The Stock?

With its stock down 20% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Bokwang Industry (KOSDAQ:225530). However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Bokwang Industry's 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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for Bokwang Industry

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Bokwang Industry is:

8.7% = ₩6.2b ÷ ₩72b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every ₩1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ₩0.09.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Bokwang Industry's Earnings Growth And 8.7% ROE

When you first look at it, Bokwang Industry's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, the fact that the its ROE is quite higher to the industry average of 3.1% doesn't go unnoticed by us. But seeing Bokwang Industry's five year net income decline of 12% over the past five years, we might rethink that. Bear in mind, the company does have a slightly low ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is lower. Hence, this goes some way in explaining the shrinking earnings.

So, as a next step, we compared Bokwang Industry's performance against the industry and were disappointed to discover that while the company has been shrinking its earnings, the industry has been growing its earnings at a rate of 0.4% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Bokwang Industry's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Bokwang Industry Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Bokwang Industry has some positive aspects to its business. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a respectable rate of return and is reinvesting a huge portion of its profits. By the looks of it, there could be some other factors, not necessarily in control of the business, that's preventing growth. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. Our risks dashboard would have the 2 risks we have identified for Bokwang Industry.

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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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