Advertisement
Australia markets closed

  • ALL ORDS

    7,837.40
    -100.10 (-1.26%)
     

  • ASX 200

    7,575.90
    -107.10 (-1.39%)
     

  • AUD/USD

    0.6554
    +0.0031 (+0.48%)
     

  • OIL

    83.74
    +0.17 (+0.20%)
     

  • GOLD

    2,356.70
    +14.20 (+0.61%)
     

  • Bitcoin AUD

    98,240.99
    +617.80 (+0.63%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,390.29
    -6.24 (-0.45%)
     

  • AUD/EUR

    0.6096
    +0.0022 (+0.37%)
     

  • AUD/NZD

    1.0982
    +0.0024 (+0.22%)
     

  • NZX 50

    11,805.09
    -141.34 (-1.18%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    17,430.50
    -96.30 (-0.55%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,114.86
    +36.00 (+0.45%)
     

  • Dow Jones

    38,085.80
    -375.12 (-0.98%)
     

  • DAX

    18,054.06
    +136.78 (+0.76%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    17,651.15
    +366.61 (+2.12%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    37,934.76
    +306.28 (+0.81%)
     

IDT Australia Limited's (ASX:IDT) Stock On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Momentum?

Simply Wall St
·4-min read

Most readers would already be aware that IDT Australia's (ASX:IDT) stock increased significantly by 86% over the past month. 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. Specifically, we decided to study IDT Australia's ROE in this article.

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.

View our latest analysis for IDT Australia

How Is ROE Calculated?

ROE can be calculated by using the formula:

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

ADVERTISEMENT

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for IDT Australia is:

1.6% = AU$388k ÷ AU$25m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. That means that for every A$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated A$0.02 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

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

A Side By Side comparison of IDT Australia's Earnings Growth And 1.6% ROE

It is hard to argue that IDT Australia's ROE is much good in and of itself. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 11%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. Although, we can see that IDT Australia saw a modest net income growth of 16% over the past five years. Therefore, the growth in earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. 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.

We then performed a comparison between IDT Australia's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 20% in the same period.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is IDT Australia fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is IDT Australia Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

IDT Australia doesn't pay any dividend currently which essentially means that it has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This definitely contributes to the decent earnings growth number that we discussed above.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that IDT Australia has some positive attributes. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. To know the 2 risks we have identified for IDT Australia visit our risks dashboard for free.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.