Guan Chao Holdings' (HKG:1872) stock is up by a considerable 15% over the past three months. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. In this article, we decided to focus on Guan Chao Holdings' ROE.

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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

See our latest analysis for Guan Chao Holdings

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 Guan Chao Holdings is:

2.7% = S$2.0m ÷ S$75m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every HK$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of HK$0.03.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Guan Chao Holdings' Earnings Growth And 2.7% ROE

It is quite clear that Guan Chao Holdings' ROE is rather low. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 7.6%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. Although, we can see that Guan Chao Holdings saw a modest net income growth of 12% over the past five years. Therefore, the growth in earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

As a next step, we compared Guan Chao Holdings' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 3.6%.

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). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Guan Chao Holdings is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Guan Chao Holdings Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Guan Chao Holdings doesn't pay any regular dividends, meaning that all of its profits are being reinvested in the business, which explains the fair bit of earnings growth the company has seen.

Conclusion

On the whole, we do feel that Guan Chao Holdings has some positive attributes. Even in spite of the low rate of return, the company has posted impressive earnings growth as a result of reinvesting heavily into its business. 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. To know the 6 risks we have identified for Guan Chao Holdings visit our risks dashboard for free.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.