Ten Ren Tea Co., Ltd.'s (TPE:1233) Dismal Stock Performance Reflects Weak Fundamentals

Ten Ren Tea (TPE:1233) has had a rough three months with its share price down 5.8%. We decided to study the company's financials to determine if the downtrend will continue as the long-term performance of a company usually dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Ten Ren Tea's 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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

See our latest analysis for Ten Ren Tea

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Ten Ren Tea is:

4.8% = NT$69m ÷ NT$1.4b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every NT$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of NT$0.05.

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. 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. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Ten Ren Tea's Earnings Growth And 4.8% ROE

On the face of it, Ten Ren Tea's 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 11% either. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 11% seen by Ten Ren Tea was probably the result of it having a lower ROE. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For example, it is possible that the business has allocated capital poorly or that the company has a very high payout ratio.

However, when we compared Ten Ren Tea's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 7.3% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Ten Ren Tea fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Ten Ren Tea Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Ten Ren Tea's high three-year median payout ratio of 111% suggests that the company is depleting its resources to keep up its dividend payments, and this shows in its shrinking earnings. Paying a dividend higher than reported profits is not a sustainable move. To know the 3 risks we have identified for Ten Ren Tea visit our risks dashboard for free.

Additionally, Ten Ren Tea 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.

Summary

On the whole, Ten Ren Tea's performance is quite a big let-down. The low ROE, combined with the fact that the company is paying out almost if not all, of its profits as dividends, has resulted in the lack or absence of growth in its earnings. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. You can do your own research on Ten Ren Tea and see how it has performed in the past by looking at this FREE detailed graph 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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