It is hard to get excited after looking at Vanov Holdings' (HKG:2260) recent performance, when its stock has declined 28% over the past three months. We, however decided to study the company's financials to determine if they have got anything to do with the price decline. Fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes so it makes sense to study the company's financials. Specifically, we decided to study Vanov Holdings' 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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Vanov Holdings is:
8.9% = CN¥35m ÷ CN¥393m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every HK$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of HK$0.09.
See our latest analysis for Vanov Holdings
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. 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.
At first glance, Vanov Holdings' ROE doesn't look very promising. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 11%, we may spare it some thought. Having said that, Vanov Holdings' net income growth over the past five years is more or less flat. Bear in mind, the company's ROE is not very high. So that could also be one of the reasons behind the company's flat growth in earnings.
We then compared Vanov Holdings' net income growth with the industry and found that the average industry growth rate was 14% in the same 5-year period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Vanov Holdings is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Despite having a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 32% (meaning the company retains68% of profits) in the last three-year period, Vanov Holdings' earnings growth was more or les flat. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.
In addition, Vanov Holdings has been paying dividends over a period of three years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is way more important to the management even if it comes at the cost of business growth.
In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Vanov Holdings' 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. Until now, we have only just grazed the surface of the company's past performance by looking at the company's fundamentals. You can do your own research on Vanov Holdings and see how it has performed in the past by looking at this FREE detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.
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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.