Are Poor Financial Prospects Dragging Down PNE Industries Ltd (SGX:BDA Stock?

With its stock down 9.5% over the past month, it is easy to disregard PNE Industries (SGX:BDA). To decide if this trend could continue, we decided to look at its weak fundamentals as they shape the long-term market trends. In this article, we decided to focus on PNE Industries' ROE.

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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

Check out our latest analysis for PNE Industries

How Do You 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 PNE Industries is:

5.4% = S$4.2m ÷ S$77m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every SGD1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of SGD0.05.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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 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.

PNE Industries' Earnings Growth And 5.4% ROE

On the face of it, PNE Industries' ROE is not much to talk about. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 12% either. For this reason, PNE Industries' five year net income decline of 12% is not surprising given its lower ROE. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company's earnings prospects. Such as - low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital.

As a next step, we compared PNE Industries' performance with the industry and found thatPNE Industries' performance is depressing even when compared with the industry, which has shrunk its earnings at a rate of 3.7% in the same period, which is a slower than the company.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Has the market priced in the future outlook for BDA? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report

Is PNE Industries Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

PNE Industries has a high three-year median payout ratio of 69% (that is, it is retaining 31% of its profits). This suggests that the company is paying most of its profits as dividends to its shareholders. This goes some way in explaining why its earnings have been shrinking. With only a little being reinvested into the business, earnings growth would obviously be low or non-existent. Our risks dashboard should have the 3 risks we have identified for PNE Industries.

Additionally, PNE Industries has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth.

Conclusion

In total, we would have a hard think before deciding on any investment action concerning PNE Industries. The company has seen a lack of earnings growth as a result of retaining very little profits and whatever little it does retain, is being reinvested at a very low rate of return. Up till now, we've only made a short study of the company's growth data. So it may be worth checking this free detailed graph of PNE Industries' 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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