China Shenhua Energy (HKG:1088) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 16% over the last 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. In this article, we decided to focus on China Shenhua Energy'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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

See our latest analysis for China Shenhua Energy

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 China Shenhua Energy is:

14% = CN¥65b ÷ CN¥475b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every HK$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn HK$0.14 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.

China Shenhua Energy's Earnings Growth And 14% ROE

To start with, China Shenhua Energy's ROE looks acceptable. Especially when compared to the industry average of 10% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. Probably as a result of this, China Shenhua Energy was able to see a decent growth of 12% over the last five years.

We then compared China Shenhua Energy's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 24% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is 1088 fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is China Shenhua Energy Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

The high three-year median payout ratio of 79% (or a retention ratio of 21%) for China Shenhua Energy suggests that the company's growth wasn't really hampered despite it returning most of its income to its shareholders.

Besides, China Shenhua Energy has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 71% of its profits over the next three years. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that China Shenhua Energy's future ROE will be 13% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that China Shenhua Energy certainly does have some positive factors to consider. The company has grown its earnings moderately as previously discussed. Still, the high ROE could have been even more beneficial to investors had the company been reinvesting more of its profits. As highlighted earlier, the current reinvestment rate appears to be quite low. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.