Sylvania Platinum Limited’s (LON:SLP) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financial Prospects Look Decent: Is The Market Wrong?

Sylvania Platinum (LON:SLP) has had a rough three months with its share price down 17%. However, the company’s fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. Specifically, we decided to study Sylvania Platinum’s ROE in this article.

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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for Sylvania Platinum

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Sylvania Platinum is:

6.9% = US$16m ÷ US$229m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The ‘return’ is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every £1 worth of shareholders’ equity, the company generated £0.07 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. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or “retains”, and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

Sylvania Platinum’s Earnings Growth And 6.9% ROE

On the face of it, Sylvania Platinum’s ROE is not much to talk about. However, given that the company’s ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 8.4%, we may spare it some thought. Even so, Sylvania Platinum has shown a fairly decent growth in its net income which grew at a rate of 11%. Considering the moderately low ROE, it is quite possible that there might be some other aspects that are positively influencing the company’s earnings growth. Such as – high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

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As a next step, we compared Sylvania Platinum’s net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 8.7%.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you’re wondering about Sylvania Platinum’s’s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Sylvania Platinum Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Sylvania Platinum has a three-year median payout ratio of 47%, which implies that it retains the remaining 53% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Moreover, Sylvania Platinum is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of five years of paying a dividend. Based on the latest analysts’ estimates, we found that the company’s future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 46%.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Sylvania Platinum has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company’s earnings are expected to accelerate. To know more about the company’s future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.