It is hard to get excited after looking at Santova's (JSE:SNV) recent performance, when its stock has declined 14% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Santova's ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
View our latest analysis for Santova
How To 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 Santova is:
17% = R183m ÷ R1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2023).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each ZAR1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made ZAR0.17 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.
A Side By Side comparison of Santova's Earnings Growth And 17% ROE
On the face of it, Santova's ROE is not much to talk about. However, the fact that the its ROE is quite higher to the industry average of 6.4% doesn't go unnoticed by us. Even more so after seeing Santova's exceptional 31% net income growth over the past five years. Bear in mind, the company does have a moderately low ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is lower. Therefore, the growth in earnings could also be the result of other factors. For example, it is possible that the broader industry is going through a high growth phase, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Santova's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 10.0% in the same period, which is great to see.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. 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 Santova is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.