Most readers would already be aware that Hikma Pharmaceuticals' (LON:HIK) stock increased significantly by 5.3% over the past month. 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. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Hikma Pharmaceuticals' 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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Hikma Pharmaceuticals is:
13% = US$290m ÷ US$2.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each £1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made £0.13 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals' Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
To start with, Hikma Pharmaceuticals' ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 13%. For this reason, Hikma Pharmaceuticals' five year net income decline of 19% raises the question as to why the decent ROE didn't translate into growth. Based on this, we feel that there might be other reasons which haven't been discussed so far in this article that could be hampering the company's growth. These include low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital.
As a next step, we compared Hikma Pharmaceuticals' performance with the industry and found thatHikma Pharmaceuticals' performance is depressing even when compared with the industry, which has shrunk its earnings at a rate of 5.2% in the same period, which is a slower than the company.
LSE:HIK Past Earnings Growth December 20th 2024
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is Hikma Pharmaceuticals fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Hikma Pharmaceuticals Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Hikma Pharmaceuticals' 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 61% (or a retention ratio of 39%). With only a little being reinvested into the business, earnings growth would obviously be low or non-existent. You can see the 2 risks we have identified for Hikma Pharmaceuticals by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.
Additionally, Hikma Pharmaceuticals has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 32% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected drop in the payout ratio explains the expected increase in the company's ROE to 19%, over the same period.
Conclusion
In total, it does look like Hikma Pharmaceuticals has some positive aspects to its business. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a high rate of return. Investors could have benefitted from the high ROE, had the company been reinvesting more of its earnings. As discussed earlier, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. That being so, the latest industry analyst forecasts show that the analysts are expecting to see a huge improvement in the company's earnings growth rate. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this freereport on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.
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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.
