N2N Connect Berhad's (KLSE:N2N) Stock Is Going Strong: Have Financials A Role To Play?

N2N Connect Berhad's (KLSE:N2N) stock is up by a considerable 11% over the past month. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. Particularly, we will be paying attention to N2N Connect Berhad's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for N2N Connect Berhad

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for N2N Connect Berhad is:

8.1% = RM22m ÷ RM267m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every MYR1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of MYR0.08.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

N2N Connect Berhad's Earnings Growth And 8.1% ROE

On the face of it, N2N Connect Berhad's ROE is not much to talk about. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 8.7%. On the other hand, N2N Connect Berhad reported a moderate 9.4% net income growth over the past five years. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that N2N Connect Berhad's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 1.0% in the same period, which is great to see.

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 N2N Connect Berhad fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is N2N Connect Berhad Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

N2N Connect Berhad has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 64%, meaning that it is left with only 36% to reinvest into its business. This implies that the company has been able to achieve decent earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Besides, N2N Connect Berhad has been paying dividends over a period of seven years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 68% of its profits over the next three years.

Conclusion

On the whole, we do feel that N2N Connect Berhad has some positive attributes. That is, quite an impressive growth in earnings. However, the low profit retention means that the company's earnings growth could have been higher, had it been reinvesting a higher portion of its profits. The latest industry analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to maintain its current growth rate. 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. 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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