Is Kawan Food Berhad's (KLSE:KAWAN) Recent Stock Performance Influenced By Its Financials In Any Way?
Kawan Food Berhad's (KLSE:KAWAN) stock is up by 2.8% over the past three months. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Kawan Food Berhad's ROE.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
Check out our latest analysis for Kawan Food Berhad
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
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 Kawan Food Berhad is:
10% = RM39m ÷ RM390m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every MYR1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of MYR0.10.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.
Kawan Food Berhad's Earnings Growth And 10% ROE
When you first look at it, Kawan Food Berhad's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 10%, we may spare it some thought. Having said that, Kawan Food Berhad has shown a modest net income growth of 8.2% over the past five years. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Kawan Food Berhad's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 13% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. What is KAWAN worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether KAWAN is currently mispriced by the market.
Is Kawan Food Berhad Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Kawan Food Berhad has a three-year median payout ratio of 36%, which implies that it retains the remaining 64% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
Besides, Kawan Food Berhad has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 35%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 11%.
Conclusion
Overall, we feel that Kawan Food Berhad certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Specifically, its fairly high earnings growth number, which no doubt was backed by the company's high earnings retention. Still, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping a lot of benefit to the investors. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
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