Does Avenue Supermarts Limited's (NSE:DMART) 12% Earnings Growth Reflect The Long-Term Trend?

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When Avenue Supermarts Limited (NSE:DMART) announced its most recent earnings (31 March 2019), I did two things: looked at its past earnings track record, then look at what is happening in the industry. Understanding how Avenue Supermarts performed requires a benchmark rather than trying to assess a standalone number at one point in time. Below is a quick commentary on how I see DMART has performed.

View our latest analysis for Avenue Supermarts

How Did DMART's Recent Performance Stack Up Against Its Past?

DMART's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 March 2019) of ₹9.0b has jumped 12% compared to the previous year.

However, this one-year growth rate has been lower than its average earnings growth rate over the past 5 years of 34%, indicating the rate at which DMART is growing has slowed down. Why could this be happening? Well, let’s take a look at what’s going on with margins and whether the rest of the industry is facing the same headwind.

NSEI:DMART Income Statement, June 7th 2019
NSEI:DMART Income Statement, June 7th 2019

In terms of returns from investment, Avenue Supermarts has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 16% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 14% exceeds the IN Consumer Retailing industry of 4.6%, indicating Avenue Supermarts has used its assets more efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Avenue Supermarts’s debt level, has increased over the past 3 years from 23% to 25%. This correlates with a decrease in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio declining from 67% to 7.7% over the past 5 years.

What does this mean?

Though Avenue Supermarts's past data is helpful, it is only one aspect of my investment thesis. While Avenue Supermarts has a good historical track record with positive growth and profitability, there's no certainty that this will extrapolate into the future. I suggest you continue to research Avenue Supermarts to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:

  1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for DMART’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for DMART’s outlook.

  2. Financial Health: Are DMART’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.

  3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.