Introl S.A. (WSE:INL) Is Going Strong But Fundamentals Appear To Be Mixed : Is There A Clear Direction For The Stock?

Introl (WSE:INL) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 29% over the last three months. However, we decided to pay attention to the company's fundamentals which don't appear to give a clear sign about the company's financial health. In this article, we decided to focus on Introl's ROE.

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 Introl

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Introl is:

15% = zł21m ÷ zł141m (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 PLN1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of PLN0.15.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

Introl's Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

To start with, Introl's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 15%. However, while Introl has a pretty respectable ROE, its five year net income decline rate was 19% . Based on this, we feel that there might be other reasons which haven't been discussed so far in this article that could be hampering the company's growth. These include low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital.

However, when we compared Introl's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 4.9% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

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

Is Introl Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

With a three-year median payout ratio as high as 356%,Introl's shrinking earnings don't come as a surprise as the company is paying a dividend which is beyond its means. Paying a dividend beyond their means is usually not viable over the long term. To know the 5 risks we have identified for Introl visit our risks dashboard for free.

In addition, Introl has been paying dividends over a period of at least ten years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is way more important to the management even if it comes at the cost of business growth.

Summary

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Introl's performance. Despite the high ROE, the company has a disappointing earnings growth number, due to its poor rate of reinvestment into its business. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. So it may be worth checking this free detailed graph of Introl's past earnings, as well as revenue and cash flows to get a deeper insight into the company's performance.

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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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