Most readers would already be aware that UWC Berhad's (KLSE:UWC) stock increased significantly by 11% over the past three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on UWC Berhad's ROE.
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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
View our latest analysis for UWC Berhad
How Is ROE Calculated?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for UWC Berhad is:
29% = RM113m ÷ RM395m (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2022).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each MYR1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made MYR0.29 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. 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 UWC Berhad's Earnings Growth And 29% ROE
To begin with, UWC Berhad has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Under the circumstances, UWC Berhad's considerable five year net income growth of 30% was to be expected.
We then compared UWC Berhad's 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 9.3% in the same period.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about UWC Berhad's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.