Should Weakness in Triona AB's (NGM:TRIONA) Stock Be Seen As A Sign That Market Will Correct The Share Price Given Decent Financials?

With its stock down 22% over the past month, it is easy to disregard Triona (NGM:TRIONA). However, the company's fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Triona's ROE today.

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 Triona

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 Triona is:

17% = kr12m ÷ kr68m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each SEK1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made SEK0.17 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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.

Triona's Earnings Growth And 17% ROE

At first glance, Triona seems to have a decent ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 19% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Triona's decent returns aren't reflected in Triona'smediocre five year net income growth average of 2.2%. So, there could be some other factors at play that could be impacting the company's growth. For instance, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Triona's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 16% over the last few years, which is not something we like to see.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. If you're wondering about Triona's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Triona Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Triona has a three-year median payout ratio of 55% (implying that it keeps only 45% of its profits), meaning that it pays out most of its profits to shareholders as dividends, and as a result, the company has seen low earnings growth.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Triona has some positive aspects to its business. Although, we are disappointed to see a lack of growth in earnings even in spite of a high ROE. Bear in mind, the company reinvests a small portion of its profits, which means that investors aren't reaping the benefits of the high rate of return. 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. Our risks dashboard would have the 3 risks we have identified for Triona.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.