Is Solteam Electronics Co., Ltd.'s (GTSM:3484) Recent Stock Performance Influenced By Its Fundamentals In Any Way?

Solteam Electronics (GTSM:3484) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 43% over the last three months. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. Specifically, we decided to study Solteam Electronics' ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

View our latest analysis for Solteam Electronics

How Do You 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 Solteam Electronics is:

14% = NT$256m ÷ NT$1.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every NT$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated NT$0.14 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. 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.

Solteam Electronics' Earnings Growth And 14% ROE

To start with, Solteam Electronics' ROE looks acceptable. Especially when compared to the industry average of 7.9% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. Needless to say, we are quite surprised to see that Solteam Electronics' net income shrunk at a rate of 3.8% over the past five years. 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. For example, it could be that the company has a high payout ratio or the business has allocated capital poorly, for instance.

That being said, we compared Solteam Electronics' performance with the industry and were concerned when we found that while the company has shrunk its earnings, the industry has grown its earnings at a rate of 3.7% in the same period.

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. If you're wondering about Solteam Electronics''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Solteam Electronics Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Solteam Electronics' declining earnings is not surprising given how the company is spending most of its profits in paying dividends, judging by its three-year median payout ratio of 75% (or a retention ratio of 25%). With only very little left to reinvest into the business, growth in earnings is far from likely. To know the 2 risks we have identified for Solteam Electronics visit our risks dashboard for free.

Moreover, Solteam Electronics has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that Solteam Electronics has some positive attributes. However, while the company does have a high ROE, its earnings growth number is quite disappointing. This can be blamed on the fact that it reinvests only a small portion of its profits and pays out the rest as dividends. Until now, we have only just grazed the surface of the company's past performance by looking at the company's fundamentals. To gain further insights into Solteam Electronics' past profit growth, check out this visualization of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.

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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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