It is hard to get excited after looking at Cohance Lifesciences' (NSE:COHANCE) recent performance, when its stock has declined 40% over the past three months. We, however decided to study the company's financials to determine if they have got anything to do with the price decline. Long-term fundamentals are usually what drive market outcomes, so it's worth paying close attention. Specifically, we decided to study Cohance Lifesciences' ROE in this article.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
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 Cohance Lifesciences is:
4.2% = ₹1.6b ÷ ₹39b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every ₹1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ₹0.04.
View our latest analysis for Cohance Lifesciences
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.
It is quite clear that Cohance Lifesciences' ROE is rather low. Even when compared to the industry average of 12%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. For this reason, Cohance Lifesciences' five year net income decline of 9.6% is not surprising given its lower ROE. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a very high payout ratio, or is faced with competitive pressures.
However, when we compared Cohance Lifesciences' growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 12% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Cohance Lifesciences fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
While the company did payout a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a regular dividend. This implies that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business.
Overall, we have mixed feelings about Cohance Lifesciences. 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. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
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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.