Singapore Airlines' (SGX:C6L) stock up by 6.6% over the past three months. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Singapore Airlines' ROE today.

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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

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How Do You 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 Singapore Airlines is:

14% = S$2.0b ÷ S$14b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every SGD1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn SGD0.14 in profit.

See our latest analysis for Singapore Airlines

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. 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.

Singapore Airlines' Earnings Growth And 14% ROE

At first glance, Singapore Airlines seems to have a decent ROE. Even so, when compared with the average industry ROE of 20%, we aren't very excited. That being the case, the significant five-year 52% net income growth reported by Singapore Airlines comes as a pleasant surprise. Therefore, there could be other causes behind this growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place. Bear in mind, the company does have a respectable ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is higher. So this also does lend some color to the high earnings growth seen by the company.

We then compared Singapore Airlines' net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 37% in the same 5-year period.

SGX:C6L Past Earnings Growth March 21st 2025

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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 Singapore Airlines''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Singapore Airlines Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Singapore Airlines has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 80%, meaning the company only retains 20% of its income. This implies that the company has been able to achieve high earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Besides, Singapore Airlines has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 45% over the next three years. However, Singapore Airlines' future ROE is expected to decline to 6.6% despite the expected decline in its payout ratio. We infer that there could be other factors that could be steering the foreseen decline in the company's ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that Singapore Airlines certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Especially the substantial growth in earnings backed by a decent ROE. Despite the company reinvesting only a small portion of its profits, it still has managed to grow its earnings so that is appreciable. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.