Advertisement
Canada markets closed
  • S&P/TSX

    22,308.93
    -66.90 (-0.30%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,222.68
    +8.60 (+0.16%)
     
  • DOW

    39,512.84
    +125.08 (+0.32%)
     
  • CAD/USD

    0.7317
    +0.0006 (+0.08%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    78.20
    -1.06 (-1.34%)
     
  • Bitcoin CAD

    83,070.63
    -3,052.45 (-3.54%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,256.69
    -101.32 (-7.46%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,366.90
    +26.60 (+1.14%)
     
  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,059.78
    -13.85 (-0.67%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.5040
    +0.0550 (+1.24%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    16,340.87
    -5.40 (-0.03%)
     
  • VOLATILITY

    12.55
    -0.14 (-1.10%)
     
  • FTSE

    8,433.76
    +52.41 (+0.63%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    38,229.11
    +155.13 (+0.41%)
     
  • CAD/EUR

    0.6789
    +0.0011 (+0.16%)
     

Did Biostar Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:BSPM) Create Value For Investors Over The Past Year?

Biostar Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:BSPM) delivered a less impressive 2.59% ROE over the past year, compared to the 12.26% return generated by its industry. BSPM’s results could indicate a relatively inefficient operation to its peers, and while this may be the case, it is important to understand what ROE is made up of and how it should be interpreted. Knowing these components could change your view on BSPM’s performance. I will take you through how metrics such as financial leverage impact ROE which may affect the overall sustainability of BSPM’s returns. Check out our latest analysis for Biostar Pharmaceuticals

Peeling the layers of ROE – trisecting a company’s profitability

Firstly, Return on Equity, or ROE, is simply the percentage of last years’ earning against the book value of shareholders’ equity. For example, if the company invests $1 in the form of equity, it will generate $0.03 in earnings from this. In most cases, a higher ROE is preferred; however, there are many other factors we must consider prior to making any investment decisions.

ADVERTISEMENT

Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders Equity

ROE is measured against cost of equity in order to determine the efficiency of Biostar Pharmaceuticals’s equity capital deployed. Its cost of equity is 4.65%. Since Biostar Pharmaceuticals’s return does not cover its cost, with a difference of -2.07%, this means its current use of equity is not efficient and not sustainable. Very simply, Biostar Pharmaceuticals pays more for its capital than what it generates in return. ROE can be split up into three useful ratios: net profit margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage. This is called the Dupont Formula:

Dupont Formula

ROE = profit margin × asset turnover × financial leverage

ROE = (annual net profit ÷ sales) × (sales ÷ assets) × (assets ÷ shareholders’ equity)

ROE = annual net profit ÷ shareholders’ equity

NasdaqCM:BSPM Last Perf May 24th 18
NasdaqCM:BSPM Last Perf May 24th 18

The first component is profit margin, which measures how much of sales is retained after the company pays for all its expenses. The other component, asset turnover, illustrates how much revenue Biostar Pharmaceuticals can make from its asset base. The most interesting ratio, and reflective of sustainability of its ROE, is financial leverage. Since ROE can be artificially increased through excessive borrowing, we should check Biostar Pharmaceuticals’s historic debt-to-equity ratio. Currently the debt-to-equity ratio stands at a low 6.71%, which means Biostar Pharmaceuticals still has headroom to take on more leverage in order to increase profits.

NasdaqCM:BSPM Historical Debt May 24th 18
NasdaqCM:BSPM Historical Debt May 24th 18

Next Steps:

ROE is one of many ratios which meaningfully dissects financial statements, which illustrates the quality of a company. Biostar Pharmaceuticals exhibits a weak ROE against its peers, as well as insufficient levels to cover its own cost of equity this year. However, ROE is not likely to be inflated by excessive debt funding, giving shareholders more conviction in the sustainability of returns, which has headroom to increase further. ROE is a helpful signal, but it is definitely not sufficient on its own to make an investment decision.

For Biostar Pharmaceuticals, I’ve compiled three important aspects you should look at:

  1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.

  2. Valuation: What is Biostar Pharmaceuticals worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Biostar Pharmaceuticals is currently mispriced by the market.

  3. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Biostar Pharmaceuticals? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!


To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.