Yahoo Finance Weak Financial Prospects Seem To Be Dragging Down Adbri Limited (ASX:ABC) Stock
It is hard to get excited after looking at Adbri's (ASX:ABC) recent performance, when its stock has declined 21% over the past three months. Given that stock prices are usually driven by a company’s fundamentals over the long term, which in this case look pretty weak, we decided to study the company's key financial indicators. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Adbri's ROE today.
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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
See our latest analysis for Adbri
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 Adbri is:
9.8% = AU$121m ÷ AU$1.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).
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$0.10 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. 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.
Adbri's Earnings Growth And 9.8% ROE
On the face of it, Adbri's ROE is not much to talk about. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 9.7%, we may spare it some thought. But then again, Adbri's five year net income shrunk at a rate of 19%. Bear in mind, the company does have a slightly low ROE. Therefore, the decline in earnings could also be the result of this.
Furthermore, even when compared to the industry, which has been shrinking its earnings at a rate 13% in the same period, we found that Adbri's performance is pretty disappointing, as it suggests that the company has been shrunk its earnings at a rate faster than the industry.
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 Adbri's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Adbri Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Adbri has a high three-year median payout ratio of 70% (that is, it is retaining 30% of its profits). This suggests that the company is paying most of its profits as dividends to its shareholders. This goes some way in explaining why its earnings have been shrinking. With only very little left to reinvest into the business, growth in earnings is far from likely. You can see the 2 risks we have identified for Adbri by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.
In addition, Adbri has been paying dividends over a period of at least ten years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is way more important to the management even if it comes at the cost of business growth. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 67%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 9.2%.
Summary
Overall, we would be extremely cautious before making any decision on Adbri. The company has seen a lack of earnings growth as a result of retaining very little profits and whatever little it does retain, is being reinvested at a very low rate of return. That being so, the latest industry analyst forecasts show that the analysts are expecting to see a huge improvement in the company's earnings growth rate. 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.
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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