It is hard to get excited after looking at Dagang NeXchange Berhad's (KLSE:DNEX) recent performance, when its stock has declined 36% over the past three months. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Specifically, we decided to study Dagang NeXchange Berhad's ROE in this article.

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 Dagang NeXchange Berhad

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 Dagang NeXchange Berhad is:

19% = RM474m ÷ RM2.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each MYR1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made MYR0.19 in profit.

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. 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.

Dagang NeXchange Berhad's Earnings Growth And 19% ROE

To start with, Dagang NeXchange Berhad's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 11%. This certainly adds some context to Dagang NeXchange Berhad's exceptional 65% net income growth seen over the past five years. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that the growth figure reported by Dagang NeXchange Berhad compares quite favourably to the industry average, which shows a decline of 0.3% 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). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is Dagang NeXchange Berhad fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.