Yamama Saudi Cement Company (TADAWUL:3020) Is Going Strong But Fundamentals Appear To Be Mixed : Is There A Clear Direction For The Stock?

Yamama Saudi Cement (TADAWUL:3020) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 13% over the last three months. But the company's key financial indicators appear to be differing across the board and that makes us question whether or not the company's current share price momentum can be maintained. Specifically, we decided to study Yamama Saudi Cement's ROE in this article.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Yamama Saudi Cement

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Yamama Saudi Cement is:

8.6% = ر.س327m ÷ ر.س3.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. That means that for every SAR1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated SAR0.09 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 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.

Yamama Saudi Cement's Earnings Growth And 8.6% ROE

It is hard to argue that Yamama Saudi Cement's ROE is much good in and of itself. An industry comparison shows that the company's ROE is not much different from the industry average of 9.1% either. Given the circumstances, the significant decline in net income by 30% seen by Yamama Saudi Cement over the last five years is not surprising.

Furthermore, even when compared to the industry, which has been shrinking its earnings at a rate 22% in the same period, we found that Yamama Saudi Cement's performance is pretty disappointing, as it suggests that the company has been shrunk its earnings at a rate faster than the industry.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Has the market priced in the future outlook for 3020? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Yamama Saudi Cement Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Yamama Saudi Cement doesn't pay any dividend, meaning that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business, which doesn't explain why the company's earnings have shrunk if it is retaining all of its profits. It looks like there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

Conclusion

Overall, we have mixed feelings about Yamama Saudi Cement. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. Having said that, we studied the latest analyst forecasts, and found that analysts are expecting the company's earnings growth to improve slightly. The company's existing shareholders might have some respite after all. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts 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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