Vmoto Limited's (ASX:VMT) Financials Are Too Obscure To Link With Current Share Price Momentum: What's In Store For the Stock?
Vmoto's (ASX:VMT) stock is up by a considerable 210% over the past three months. However, we decided to pay attention to the company's fundamentals which don't appear to give a clear sign about the company's financial health. Specifically, we decided to study Vmoto'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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
View our latest analysis for Vmoto
How To 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 Vmoto is:
7.6% = AU$1.3m ÷ AU$17m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every A$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated A$0.08 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With 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 all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.
Vmoto's Earnings Growth And 7.6% ROE
At first glance, Vmoto's ROE doesn't look very promising. However, its ROE is similar to the industry average of 7.9%, so we won't completely dismiss the company. But then again, Vmoto's five year net income shrunk at a rate of 11%. Remember, the company's ROE is a bit low to begin with. So that's what might be causing earnings growth to shrink.
However, when we compared Vmoto's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 6.4% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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 Vmoto fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Vmoto Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Because Vmoto doesn't pay any dividends, we infer that it is retaining all of its profits, which is rather perplexing when you consider the fact that there is no earnings growth to show for it. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.
Conclusion
In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Vmoto's performance. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business. You can see the 3 risks we have identified for Vmoto by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.
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.
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