Yahoo Finance Warpaint London PLC's (LON:W7L) Stock Is Rallying But Financials Look Ambiguous: Will The Momentum Continue?
Warpaint London (LON:W7L) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 20% over the last 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. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Warpaint London's ROE today.
ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
See our latest analysis for Warpaint London
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 Warpaint London is:
14% = UK£5.4m ÷ UK£39m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every £1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated £0.14 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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.
Warpaint London's Earnings Growth And 14% ROE
To begin with, Warpaint London seems to have a respectable ROE. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 12%. As you might expect, the 20% net income decline reported by Warpaint London is a bit of a surprise. So, there might be some other aspects that could explain this. For example, it could be that the company has a high payout ratio or the business has allocated capital poorly, for instance.
Furthermore, even when compared to the industry, which has been shrinking its earnings at a rate 4.0% in the same period, we found that Warpaint London's performance is pretty disappointing, as it suggests that the company has been shrunk its earnings at a rate faster than the industry.
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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is W7L fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.
Is Warpaint London Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
With a three-year median payout ratio as high as 121%,Warpaint London's shrinking earnings don't come as a surprise as the company is paying a dividend which is beyond its means. Paying a dividend beyond their means is usually not viable over the long term. To know the 3 risks we have identified for Warpaint London visit our risks dashboard for free.
Additionally, Warpaint London has paid dividends over a period of five years, which means that the company's management is rather focused on keeping up its dividend payments, regardless of the shrinking earnings. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 71% over the next three years.
Summary
Overall, we have mixed feelings about Warpaint London. In spite of the high ROE, the company has failed to see growth in its earnings due to it paying out most of its profits as dividend, with almost nothing left to invest into its own business. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. You can do your own research on Warpaint London 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.
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