Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic (HKG:2145) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 11% over the last three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic'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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic

How To 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 Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic is:

36% = CN¥773m ÷ CN¥2.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every HK$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated HK$0.36 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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 Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic's Earnings Growth And 36% ROE

Firstly, we acknowledge that Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 14% the company's ROE is quite impressive. As a result, Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic's exceptional 35% net income growth seen over the past five years, doesn't come as a surprise.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 1.5% in the same period, which is great to see.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

The high three-year median payout ratio of 80% (implying that it keeps only 20% of profits) for Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic suggests that the company's growth wasn't really hampered despite it returning most of the earnings to its shareholders.

While Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic has seen growth in its earnings, it only recently started to pay a dividend. It is most likely that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 66% of its profits over the next three years. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic's future ROE will be 40% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Shanghai Chicmax Cosmetic's performance. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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.

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.