27-01-2025
Can Schweiter Technologies AG's (VTX:SWTQ) Weak Financials Pull The Plug On The Stock's Current Momentum On Its Share Price?
Schweiter Technologies' (VTX:SWTQ) stock is up by a considerable 19% over the past three months. However, we decided to pay close attention to its weak financials as we are doubtful that the current momentum will keep up, given the scenario. In this article, we decided to focus on Schweiter Technologies' ROE.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
View our latest analysis for Schweiter Technologies
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 Schweiter Technologies is:
4.9% = CHF36m ÷ CHF738m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every CHF1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CHF0.05 in profit.
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. 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.
When you first look at it, Schweiter Technologies' ROE doesn't look that attractive. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 14% either. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 19% seen by Schweiter Technologies was probably the result of it having a lower ROE. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company's earnings prospects. Such as - low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital.
As a next step, we compared Schweiter Technologies' performance with the industry and found thatSchweiter Technologies' performance is depressing even when compared with the industry, which has shrunk its earnings at a rate of 3.5% in the same period, which is a slower than the company.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for SWTQ? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Schweiter Technologies has a high three-year median payout ratio of 78% (that is, it is retaining 22% of its profits). This suggests that the company is paying most of its profits as dividends to its shareholders. This goes some way in explaining why its earnings have been shrinking. With only very little left to reinvest into the business, growth in earnings is far from likely.
Moreover, Schweiter Technologies 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. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 63% of its profits over the next three years. However, Schweiter Technologies' ROE is predicted to rise to 7.1% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.
In total, we would have a hard think before deciding on any investment action concerning Schweiter Technologies. Because the company is not reinvesting much into the business, and given the low ROE, it's not surprising to see the lack or absence of growth in its earnings. With that said, we studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that while the company has shrunk its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to grow 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.
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