Intco Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300677) Has Fared Decently But Fundamentals Look Uncertain: What Lies Ahead For The Stock?

Intco Medical Technology’s (SZSE:300677) stock up by 8.1% over the past three months. However, we decided to study the company’s mixed-bag of fundamentals to assess what this could mean for future share prices, as stock prices tend to be aligned with a company’s long-term financial performance. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Intco Medical Technology’s ROE today.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for Intco Medical Technology

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Intco Medical Technology is:

4.0% = CN¥676m ÷ CN¥17b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The ‘return’ is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder’s investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.04.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

Intco Medical Technology’s Earnings Growth And 4.0% ROE

It is quite clear that Intco Medical Technology’s ROE is rather low. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 7.3%, the company’s ROE is quite dismal. Given the circumstances, the significant decline in net income by 16% seen by Intco Medical Technology over the last five years is not surprising. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company’s earnings prospects. For example, the business has allocated capital poorly, or that the company has a very high payout ratio.

However, when we compared Intco Medical Technology’s growth with the industry we found that while the company’s earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 5.3% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. Is Intco Medical Technology fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Intco Medical Technology Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

When we piece together Intco Medical Technology’s low three-year median payout ratio of 11% (where it is retaining 89% of its profits), calculated for the last three-year period, we are puzzled by the lack of growth. This typically shouldn’t be the case when a company is retaining most of its earnings. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For example, the company’s business may be deteriorating.

In addition, Intco Medical Technology has been paying dividends over a period of six years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is preferred by the management even though earnings have been in decline.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Intco Medical Technology can be open to many interpretations. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. 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 free report 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.