Korean Airlines Co.,Ltd.'s (KRX:003490) Stock's On An Uptrend: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?

Korean AirlinesLtd's (KRX:003490) stock is up by a considerable 11% 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. In this article, we decided to focus on Korean AirlinesLtd's ROE.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for Korean AirlinesLtd

How Is ROE Calculated?

Return on equity 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 Korean AirlinesLtd is:

12% = ₩1.3t ÷ ₩10t (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every ₩1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated ₩0.12 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. 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.

Korean AirlinesLtd's Earnings Growth And 12% ROE

At first glance, Korean AirlinesLtd seems to have a decent ROE. Be that as it may, the company's ROE is still quite lower than the industry average of 18%. Still, we can see that Korean AirlinesLtd has seen a remarkable net income growth of 60% over the past five years. We believe that there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place. Bear in mind, the company does have a respectable ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is higher. So this also does lend some color to the high earnings growth seen by the company.

We then compared Korean AirlinesLtd'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 26% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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 Korean AirlinesLtd is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Korean AirlinesLtd Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Korean AirlinesLtd has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 23%, meaning that it has the remaining 77% left over to reinvest into its business. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.

Additionally, Korean AirlinesLtd has paid dividends over a period of five years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with 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 20%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Korean AirlinesLtd's future ROE will be 12% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Korean AirlinesLtd's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business at a moderate rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.