Radiant Globaltech Berhad's (KLSE:RGTECH) Stock is Soaring But Financials Seem Inconsistent: Will The Uptrend Continue?

Radiant Globaltech Berhad's (KLSE:RGTECH) stock is up by a considerable 11% over the past three months. However, we wonder if the company's inconsistent financials would have any adverse impact on the current share price momentum. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Radiant Globaltech Berhad's ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Radiant Globaltech 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 Radiant Globaltech Berhad is:

1.2% = RM754k ÷ RM64m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every MYR1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated MYR0.01 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. 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 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Radiant Globaltech Berhad's Earnings Growth And 1.2% ROE

As you can see, Radiant Globaltech Berhad's ROE looks pretty weak. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 8.7%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. For this reason, Radiant Globaltech Berhad's five year net income decline of 24% is not surprising given its lower ROE. However, there could also be other factors causing the earnings to decline. Such as - low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital.

So, as a next step, we compared Radiant Globaltech 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 1.3% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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. If you're wondering about Radiant Globaltech Berhad's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Radiant Globaltech Berhad Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Radiant Globaltech Berhad's low three-year median payout ratio of 9.9% (or a retention ratio of 90%) over the last three years should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings to fuel its growth but the company's earnings have actually shrunk. The low payout should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings and consequently, should see some growth. It looks like there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

In addition, Radiant Globaltech Berhad only recently started paying a dividend so the management probably decided the shareholders prefer dividends even though earnings have been shrinking.

Conclusion

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Radiant Globaltech Berhad's performance. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business. You can see the 3 risks we have identified for Radiant Globaltech Berhad by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

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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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