Is ARB Berhad's (KLSE:ARBB) Latest Stock Performance A Reflection Of Its Financial Health?

Most readers would already be aware that ARB Berhad's (KLSE:ARBB) stock increased significantly by 26% over the past month. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. In this article, we decided to focus on ARB Berhad'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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

View our latest analysis for ARB 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 ARB Berhad is:

21% = RM35m ÷ RM167m (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 MYR1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of MYR0.21.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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 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.

ARB Berhad's Earnings Growth And 21% ROE

To start with, ARB Berhad's ROE looks acceptable. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 10% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. Probably as a result of this, ARB Berhad was able to see an impressive net income growth of 68% over the last five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that the growth figure reported by ARB Berhad compares quite favourably to the industry average, which shows a decline of 2.4% in the same period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. Is ARB Berhad fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is ARB Berhad Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with ARB Berhad's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. 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. Not to forget, share price outcomes are also dependent on the potential risks a company may face. So it is important for investors to be aware of the risks involved in the business. Our risks dashboard would have the 4 risks we have identified for ARB Berhad.

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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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