Robinson Europe S.A.'s (WSE:RBS) Stock Is Going Strong: Have Financials A Role To Play?

Most readers would already be aware that Robinson Europe's (WSE:RBS) stock increased significantly by 31% over the past three months. 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. Specifically, we decided to study Robinson Europe's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. 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 Robinson Europe

How Is ROE Calculated?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Robinson Europe is:

6.6% = zł842k ÷ zł13m (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2020).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each PLN1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made PLN0.07 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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.

Robinson Europe's Earnings Growth And 6.6% ROE

At first glance, Robinson Europe's ROE doesn't look very promising. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 16%. Robinson Europe was still able to see a decent net income growth of 14% over the past five years. So, the growth in the company's earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing Robinson Europe's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 14% 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). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. 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 Robinson Europe is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Robinson Europe Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Robinson Europe's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 9.4% (implying that it retains 91% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Besides, Robinson Europe has been paying dividends over a period of four years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Conclusion

On the whole, we do feel that Robinson Europe has some positive attributes. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. You can see the 3 risks we have identified for Robinson Europe 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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