Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT) has had a rough month with its share price down 12%. We, however decided to study the company’s financials to determine if they have got anything to do with the price decline. Fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes so it makes sense to study the company’s financials. In this article, we decided to focus on Flight Centre Travel Group’s ROE.
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.
Check out our latest analysis for Flight Centre Travel Group
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders’ Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Flight Centre Travel Group is:
4.2% = AU$47m ÷ AU$1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).
The ‘return’ is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every A$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn A$0.04 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. 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.
Flight Centre Travel Group’s Earnings Growth And 4.2% ROE
At first glance, Flight Centre Travel Group’s ROE doesn’t look very promising. We then compared the company’s ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 6.5%. Given the circumstances, the significant decline in net income by 29% seen by Flight Centre Travel Group over the last five years is not surprising. However, there could also be other factors causing the earnings to decline. For instance, the company has a very high payout ratio, or is faced with competitive pressures.
As a next step, we compared Flight Centre Travel Group’s performance with the industry and found thatFlight Centre Travel Group’s performance is depressing even when compared with the industry, which has shrunk its earnings at a rate of 14% in the same period, which is a slower than the company.
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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock’s future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for FLT? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Flight Centre Travel Group Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Because Flight Centre Travel Group doesn’t pay any dividends, we infer that it is retaining all of its profits, which is rather perplexing when you consider the fact that there is no earnings growth to show for it. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company’s business may be deteriorating.
Summary
Overall, we have mixed feelings about Flight Centre Travel Group. 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. 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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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.
