First Resources (SGX:EB5) has had a rough week with its share price down 4.1%. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Particularly, we will be paying attention to First Resources' ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

Check out our latest analysis for First Resources

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for First Resources is:

14% = US$187m ÷ US$1.4b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each SGD1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made SGD0.14 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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 First Resources' Earnings Growth And 14% ROE

At first glance, First Resources seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 7.2%. Probably as a result of this, First Resources was able to see an impressive net income growth of 21% over the last five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

As a next step, we compared First Resources' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 16%.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about First Resources''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is First Resources Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

First Resources' three-year median payout ratio is a pretty moderate 48%, meaning the company retains 52% of its income. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the high growth we discussed above, it looks like First Resources is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Moreover, First Resources is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. 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 51%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 13%.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that First Resources' performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. 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. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page 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.