Could The Market Be Wrong About Asia Poly Holdings Berhad (KLSE:ASIAPLY) Given Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

Asia Poly Holdings Berhad (KLSE:ASIAPLY) has had a rough three months with its share price down 37%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. In this article, we decided to focus on Asia Poly Holdings Berhad's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for Asia Poly Holdings Berhad

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 Asia Poly Holdings Berhad is:

9.8% = RM17m ÷ RM168m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every MYR1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn MYR0.10 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. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.

Asia Poly Holdings Berhad's Earnings Growth And 9.8% ROE

At first glance, Asia Poly Holdings Berhad's ROE doesn't look very promising. Although a closer study shows that the company's ROE is higher than the industry average of 7.7% which we definitely can't overlook. Especially when you consider Asia Poly Holdings Berhad's exceptional 21% net income growth over the past five years. That being said, the company does have a slightly low ROE to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. So, there might well be other reasons for the earnings to grow. E.g the company has a low payout ratio or could belong to a high growth industry.

As a next step, we compared Asia Poly Holdings Berhad's net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 0.6%.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 Asia Poly Holdings Berhad is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Asia Poly Holdings Berhad Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Asia Poly Holdings Berhad doesn't pay any dividend currently which essentially means that it has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This definitely contributes to the high earnings growth number that we discussed above.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Asia Poly Holdings Berhad's 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. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Remember, the price of a stock is also dependent on the perceived risk. Therefore investors must keep themselves informed about the risks involved before investing in any company. Our risks dashboard would have the 4 risks we have identified for Asia Poly Holdings Berhad.

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.

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