Yahoo Finance Is Iluka Resources Limited's (ASX:ILU) Recent Stock Performance Tethered To Its Strong Fundamentals?
Iluka Resources' (ASX:ILU) stock is up by a considerable 18% over the past month. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Specifically, we decided to study Iluka Resources' ROE in this article.
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.
View our latest analysis for Iluka Resources
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 Iluka Resources is:
26% = AU$501m ÷ AU$1.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every A$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated A$0.26 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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.
Iluka Resources' Earnings Growth And 26% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that Iluka Resources has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 16% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Under the circumstances, Iluka Resources' considerable five year net income growth of 37% was to be expected.
We then performed a comparison between Iluka Resources' net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 33% in the same period.
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. If you're wondering about Iluka Resources''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Iluka Resources Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Iluka Resources' three-year median payout ratio is a pretty moderate 29%, meaning the company retains 71% of its income. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the high growth we discussed above, it looks like Iluka Resources is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
Additionally, Iluka Resources has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to rise to 40% over the next three years. Consequently, the higher expected payout ratio explains the decline in the company's expected ROE (to 16%) over the same period.
Summary
Overall, we are quite pleased with Iluka Resources' performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. Having said that, on studying current analyst estimates, we were concerned to see that while the company has grown its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to shrink in the future. 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.
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