Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In SFD S.A.'s (WSE:SFD) Stock?

SFD's (WSE:SFD) stock is up by a considerable 144% over the past three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Specifically, we decided to study SFD's ROE in this article.

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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for SFD

How To 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 SFD is:

41% = zł9.6m ÷ zł23m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every PLN1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated PLN0.41 in profit.

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. 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.

SFD's Earnings Growth And 41% ROE

To begin with, SFD has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 16% the company's ROE is quite impressive. So, the substantial 64% net income growth seen by SFD over the past five years isn't overly surprising.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that SFD's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 14% in the same period, which is great to see.

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 SFD's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is SFD Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with SFD's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable 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. 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. You can see the 2 risks we have identified for SFD 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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