Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • NIKKEI 225

    38,460.08
    +907.92 (+2.42%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    17,201.27
    +372.34 (+2.21%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.84
    -0.52 (-0.62%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,328.90
    -13.20 (-0.56%)
     
  • DOW

    38,460.92
    -42.77 (-0.11%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    51,529.57
    -1,706.22 (-3.21%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,385.35
    -38.75 (-2.72%)
     
  • NASDAQ Composite

    15,712.75
    +16.11 (+0.10%)
     
  • UK FTSE All Share

    4,374.06
    -4.69 (-0.11%)
     

Should Weakness in Silvercorp Metals Inc.'s (TSE:SVM) Stock Be Seen As A Sign That Market Will Correct The Share Price Given Decent Financials?

Silvercorp Metals (TSE:SVM) has had a rough month with its share price down 9.7%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. In this article, we decided to focus on Silvercorp Metals' ROE.

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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for Silvercorp Metals

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

ADVERTISEMENT

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Silvercorp Metals is:

11% = US$61m ÷ US$566m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CA$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CA$0.11 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. 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.

Silvercorp Metals' Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

At first glance, Silvercorp Metals seems to have a decent ROE. Be that as it may, the company's ROE is still quite lower than the industry average of 15%. However, the moderate 11% net income growth seen by Silvercorp Metals over the past five years is definitely a positive. So, there might be other aspects that are positively influencing earnings growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently. However, not to forget, the company does have a decent ROE to begin with, just that it is lower than the industry average. So this also provides some context to the earnings growth seen by the company.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Silvercorp Metals' reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 29% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. What is SVM worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SVM is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Silvercorp Metals Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

In Silvercorp Metals' case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 10% (or a retention ratio of 90%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Besides, Silvercorp Metals has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. 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 10%.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that Silvercorp Metals certainly does have some positive factors to consider. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a moderate rate of return, that has resulted in a respectable growth in its earnings. Having said that, on studying current analyst estimates, we were concerned to see that while the company has grown its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to shrink in the future. 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. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.