HASEKO (TSE:1808) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 20% over the last three months. However, we wonder if the company's inconsistent financials would have any adverse impact on the current share price momentum. In this article, we decided to focus on HASEKO's ROE.
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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
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 HASEKO is:
7.5% = JP¥39b ÷ JP¥527b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every ¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn ¥0.07 in profit.
Check out our latest analysis for HASEKO
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.
At first glance, HASEKO's ROE doesn't look very promising. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 8.2%, we may spare it some thought. But HASEKO saw a five year net income decline of 5.1% over the past five years. Remember, the company's ROE is a bit low to begin with. Hence, this goes some way in explaining the shrinking earnings.
So, as a next step, we compared HASEKO's performance against the industry and were disappointed to discover that while the company has been shrinking its earnings, the industry has been growing its earnings at a rate of 4.8% over the last few years.
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. 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 HASEKO's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Despite having a normal three-year median payout ratio of 46% (where it is retaining 54% of its profits), HASEKO has seen a decline in earnings as we saw above. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.
Additionally, HASEKO has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth.
In total, we're a bit ambivalent about HASEKO's performance. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. That being so, the latest industry analyst forecasts show that the analysts are expecting to see a huge improvement in the company's earnings growth rate. 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.