Are Poor Financial Prospects Dragging Down Cocoaland Holdings Berhad (KLSE:COCOLND Stock?

With its stock down 16% over the past month, it is easy to disregard Cocoaland Holdings Berhad (KLSE:COCOLND). To decide if this trend could continue, we decided to look at its weak fundamentals as they shape the long-term market trends. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Cocoaland Holdings Berhad's ROE today.

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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Cocoaland Holdings Berhad

How To 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 Cocoaland Holdings Berhad is:

9.0% = RM22m ÷ RM243m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each MYR1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made MYR0.09 in profit.

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. 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 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.

Cocoaland Holdings Berhad's Earnings Growth And 9.0% ROE

At first glance, Cocoaland Holdings Berhad's ROE doesn't look very promising. However, its ROE is similar to the industry average of 9.3%, so we won't completely dismiss the company. But then again, Cocoaland Holdings Berhad's five year net income shrunk at a rate of 15%. Bear in mind, the company does have a slightly low ROE. Hence, this goes some way in explaining the shrinking earnings.

So, as a next step, we compared Cocoaland Holdings Berhad'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 4.0% in the same period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Cocoaland Holdings Berhad fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Cocoaland Holdings Berhad Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Cocoaland Holdings Berhad has a high three-year median payout ratio of 69% (that is, it is retaining 31% of its profits). This suggests that the company is paying most of its profits as dividends to its shareholders. This goes some way in explaining why its earnings have been shrinking. The business is only left with a small pool of capital to reinvest - A vicious cycle that doesn't benefit the company in the long-run.

Moreover, Cocoaland Holdings Berhad has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth. 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 60%. Regardless, the future ROE for Cocoaland Holdings Berhad is predicted to rise to 15% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.

Conclusion

On the whole, Cocoaland Holdings Berhad's performance is quite a big let-down. As a result of its low ROE and lack of much reinvestment into the business, the company has seen a disappointing earnings growth rate. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. 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.