Is Apex Biotechnology Corp.'s (TPE:1733) Stock On A Downtrend As A Result Of Its Poor Financials?

With its stock down 8.2% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Apex Biotechnology (TPE:1733). To decide if this trend could continue, we decided to look at its weak fundamentals as they shape the long-term market trends. Specifically, we decided to study Apex Biotechnology's ROE in this article.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for Apex Biotechnology

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 Apex Biotechnology is:

8.8% = NT$142m ÷ NT$1.6b (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 NT$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated NT$0.09 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

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

Apex Biotechnology's Earnings Growth And 8.8% ROE

On the face of it, Apex Biotechnology'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. For this reason, Apex Biotechnology's five year net income decline of 17% 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.

So, as a next step, we compared Apex Biotechnology's performance against the industry and were disappointed to discover that while the company has been shrinking its earnings, the industry has been growing its earnings at a rate of 10% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Apex Biotechnology's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Apex Biotechnology Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Apex Biotechnology's 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 89% (or a retention ratio of 11%). With only a little being reinvested into the business, earnings growth would obviously be low or non-existent. You can see the 3 risks we have identified for Apex Biotechnology by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

In addition, Apex Biotechnology has been paying dividends over a period of at least ten years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is way more important to the management even if it comes at the cost of business growth.

Summary

Overall, we would be extremely cautious before making any decision on Apex Biotechnology. As a result of its low ROE and lack of mich reinvestment into the business, the company has seen a disappointing earnings growth rate. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. So it may be worth checking this free detailed graph of Apex Biotechnology's 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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