Has Cyient Limited’s (NSE:CYIENT) Impressive Stock Performance Got Anything to

Cyient (NSE:CYIENT) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 33% over the last three months. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company’s key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. In this article, we decided to focus on Cyient’s 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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company’s shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Cyient

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 Cyient is:

15% = ₹5.1b ÷ ₹35b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

The ‘return’ is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every ₹1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn ₹0.15 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we’ve learned that ROE is a measure of a company’s profitability. 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. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Cyient’s Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

At first glance, Cyient seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company’s ROE is similar to the industry average of 15%. Despite the modest returns, Cyient’s five year net income growth was quite low, averaging at only 3.8%. So, there could be some other factors at play that could be impacting the company’s growth. For instance, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.

As a next step, we compared Cyient’s net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company’s growth is lower than the industry average growth of 19% in the same period.

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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you’re wondering about Cyient’s’s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Cyient Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

With a high three-year median payout ratio of 50% (or a retention ratio of 50%), most of Cyient’s profits are being paid to shareholders. This definitely contributes to the low earnings growth seen by the company.

Moreover, Cyient has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 50%. Regardless, the future ROE for Cyient is predicted to rise to 22% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.

Summary

In total, it does look like Cyient has some positive aspects to its business. Although, we are disappointed to see a lack of growth in earnings even in spite of a high ROE. Bear in mind, the company reinvests a small portion of its profits, which means that investors aren’t reaping the benefits of the high rate of return. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company’s earnings are expected to gain momentum. 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…