VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (DE000A0JL9W6)
 
 

12,84 EUR

Stand (close): 04.07.25

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Datum / Uhrzeit Titel Bewertung
26.06.25 04:10:52 Shareholders in Verbio (ETR:VBK) are in the red if they invested three years ago
Verbio SE (ETR:VBK) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 18% in the last month. But the last three years have seen a terrible decline. Indeed, the share price is down a whopping 78% in the last three years. Arguably, the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. But the more important question is whether the underlying business can justify a higher price still.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Over the three years that the share price declined, Verbio's earnings per share (EPS) dropped significantly, falling to a loss. Due to the loss, it's not easy to use EPS as a reliable guide to the business. But it's safe to say we'd generally expect the share price to be lower as a result!

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).XTRA:VBK Earnings Per Share Growth June 26th 2025

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 19% in the last year, Verbio shareholders lost 35% (even including dividends). Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 4%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Verbio better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Verbio .

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this freelist of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on German exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.
12.01.24 09:18:39 Verbio (ETR:VBK) Is Doing The Right Things To Multiply Its Share Price
If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Verbio (ETR:VBK) so let's look a bit deeper.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Verbio:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.12 = €132m ÷ (€1.3b - €215m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Verbio has an ROCE of 12%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 12%.

See our latest analysis for Verbio XTRA:VBK Return on Capital Employed January 12th 2024

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Verbio compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Verbio.

How Are Returns Trending?

We like the trends that we're seeing from Verbio. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 12%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 245% more capital is being employed now too. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Bottom Line

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Verbio has. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Verbio can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

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Verbio does come with some risks though, we found 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...

While Verbio isn't earning the highest return, check out this freelist of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.
28.11.23 04:02:55 VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie (ETR:VBK) Has Announced A Dividend Of €0.20
The board of VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (ETR:VBK) has announced that it will pay a dividend of €0.20 per share on the 7th of February. The dividend yield is 0.7% based on this payment, which is a little bit low compared to the other companies in the industry.

While the dividend yield is important for income investors, it is also important to consider any large share price moves, as this will generally outweigh any gains from distributions. VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's stock price has reduced by 31% in the last 3 months, which is not ideal for investors and can explain a sharp increase in the dividend yield.

See our latest analysis for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

It would be nice for the yield to be higher, but we should also check if higher levels of dividend payment would be sustainable. Based on the last payment, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie was earning enough to cover the dividend, but free cash flows weren't positive. We think that cash flows should take priority over earnings, so this is definitely a worry for the dividend going forward.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 165.7%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 6.8%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend. historic-dividend

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie Doesn't Have A Long Payment History

The dividend's track record has been pretty solid, but with only 8 years of history we want to see a few more years of history before making any solid conclusions. Since 2015, the annual payment back then was €0.10, compared to the most recent full-year payment of €0.20. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9.1% a year over that time. The dividend has been growing as a reasonable rate, which we like. However, investors will probably want to see a longer track record before they consider VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie to be a consistent dividend paying stock.

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The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. It's encouraging to see that VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie has been growing its earnings per share at 38% a year over the past five years. A low payout ratio gives the company a lot of flexibility, and growing earnings also make it very easy for it to grow the dividend.

In Summary

Overall, we don't think this company makes a great dividend stock, even though the dividend wasn't cut this year. While the low payout ratio is a redeeming feature, this is offset by the minimal cash to cover the payments. This company is not in the top tier of income providing stocks.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Just as an example, we've come across 3 warning signs for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant. Is VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.
21.11.23 06:34:14 A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (ETR:VBK)
Key Insights

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's estimated fair value is €38.53 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's €33.79 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate The €58.50 analyst price target for VBK is 52% more than our estimate of fair value

Does the November share price for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (ETR:VBK) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (€, Millions) -€112.2m €54.3m €69.5m €154.4m €162.2m €167.6m €171.7m €174.8m €177.4m €179.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 3.30% Est @ 2.45% Est @ 1.85% Est @ 1.44% Est @ 1.14% Present Value (€, Millions) Discounted @ 6.3% -€106 €48.0 €57.8 €121 €119 €116 €112 €107 €102 €97.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = €776m

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.5%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.3%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = €179m× (1 + 0.5%) ÷ (6.3%– 0.5%) = €3.1b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= €3.1b÷ ( 1 + 6.3%)10= €1.7b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is €2.4b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of €33.8, the company appears about fair value at a 12% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. dcf

Important Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.169. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Oil and Gas market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the German market.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie, there are three further elements you should explore:

Risks: You should be aware of the 3 warning signs for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) we've uncovered before considering an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does VBK's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the XTRA every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.
07.11.23 04:26:57 VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's (ETR:VBK) five-year earnings growth trails the massive shareholder returns
While VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (ETR:VBK) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 26% in the last quarter. But that doesn't undermine the fantastic longer term performance (measured over five years). In that time, the share price has soared some 421% higher! Arguably, the recent fall is to be expected after such a strong rise. Of course what matters most is whether the business can improve itself sustainably, thus justifying a higher price. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 62% decline over the last twelve months.

Since it's been a strong week for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During five years of share price growth, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 54% per year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 39% over the same period. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). earnings-per-share-growth

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie, it has a TSR of 451% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

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A Different Perspective

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie shareholders are down 62% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 8.4%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 41% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this freelist of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on German exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.
17.10.23 06:13:26 The recent 3.9% gain must have brightened CEO Claus Sauter's week, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG's (ETR:VBK) most bullish insider
Key Insights

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership Institutional ownership in VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie is 12%

If you want to know who really controls VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (ETR:VBK), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 64% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit €2.3b market cap following a 3.9% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie.

Check out our latest analysis for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. earnings-and-revenue-growth

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Claus Sauter with 21% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 15% and 10% of the stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Bernd Sauter is also Member of Management Board, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

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To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

It seems that insiders own more than half the VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG stock. This gives them a lot of power. Given it has a market cap of €2.3b, that means insiders have a whopping €1.5b worth of shares in their own names. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if they have been selling down their stake.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 10%, of the VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this freereport on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.
20.09.23 06:50:53 Will Weakness in VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG's (ETR:VBK) Stock Prove Temporary Given Strong Fundamentals?
It is hard to get excited after looking at VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's (ETR:VBK) recent performance, when its stock has declined 8.5% over the past week. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie is:

27% = €240m ÷ €892m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every €1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn €0.27 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's Earnings Growth And 27% ROE

To begin with, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Further, even comparing with the industry average if 27%, the company's ROE is quite respectable. Given the circumstances, the significant 51% net income growth seen by VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie over the last five years is not surprising.

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Next, on comparing VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 43% over the last few years. past-earnings-growth

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. What is VBK worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether VBK is currently mispriced by the market.

Is VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 14%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 86% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.

Moreover, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of eight years of paying a dividend. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 9.4% over the next three years. Still forecasts suggest that VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's future ROE will drop to 15% even though the the company's payout ratio is expected to decrease. This suggests that there could be other factors could driving the anticipated decline in the company's ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.
03.05.22 15:30:22 Corn, soy are not the only way for Germany to cut CO2 emissions from fuels -ministry
By Zuzanna Szymanska

FRANKFURT, May 3 (Reuters) - Using less grain and vegetable oil in biofuels is not the only option for Germany to cut CO2 emissions, its environment ministry said on Tuesday as the war in Ukraine has spurred Berlin to speed up plans to cap fuel production from food.

The European Union has agreed on a 7% cap for food-based biofuels. Germany, which is the European Union's biggest rapeseed producer, has set out to reduce that figure further - most recently to 4.4% - and now looks to go even lower, with the agriculture ministry saying it is working on new legislation to achieve this.

Ukraine is one of Europe's main agricultural exporters and the war there has disrupted supplies and prompted Germany to move more quickly to reduce its use of grain and vegetable oils in biofuels.

"Corn, rapeseed or soy are not the only way. Fuel makers can use synthetic and waste-based biofuels, electricity and green hydrogen," a ministry spokesperson said, commenting on a media report that Germany would cap production of agricultural fuels.

On Friday, German paper Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung (AAZ) had reported that Environment Minister Steffi Lemke was working with the Agriculture Ministry on such a limit as "agricultural land is needed for food, as the war in Ukraine dramatically shows us."

The move comes after Germany decided to stop subsidies for palm oil as a fuel component from 2023, though the European Union will continue to permit the additive until 2030.

The spokesperson said Lemke's plans to further limit use of food products in biofuels was a "logical next step" but declined to give more details on the scope and timeline of the proposed changes.

The AAZ report has had a major impact on several markets, including leading to a sharp decline in EU rapeseed futures and driving down the share price of German bioenergy company Verbio .

However, allowing fuel production from food and feed would help companies meet environment targets only in the short term, the spokesperson said.

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"Expanding the production of biofuels from food and feed crops would be detrimental to nature. Forests would have to be cleared or moors drained in order to create new cultivation areas for more fuel," he said.

This was already an issue before the war in Ukraine, the spokesperson added.

He also said most of food and feed used as fuel has to be imported, which puts additional pressure on the already strained global markets and leads to increasing prices in all countries, including Germany.

(Reporting by Zuzanna Szymanska, Editing by Miranda Murray and Susan Fenton)
06.05.20 12:43:01 CORRECTED-European ethanol makers fear influx from U.S. and Brazil
(Corrects to show Brazilian export data in last paragraph is to all destinations)

* Ethanol consumption slumped globally due to COVID-19 crisis

* EU makers fear cheap imports when demand resumes

* Called the European Commission for action, possibly tariffs

* U.S., Brazilian ethanol exports surged in past months

By Sybille de La Hamaide

PARIS, May 6 (Reuters) - An influx of cheap U.S. and Brazilian ethanol threatens Europe's producers as businesses resume operations, companies have told the European Commission, urging it to act to protect an industry reeling from depressed demand.

Sharp falls in driving and air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic have hit the biofuel sector worldwide, forcing companies to dtastically cut output and prices, notably in top producers the United States and Brazil.

The two countries account for about 55% and 30% of the world's ethanol production respectively.

European producers of ethanol, made from grains or sugar crops, now fear that record stocks in these countries could prompt them to further boost their shipments to Europe when confinement measures are lifted.

They asked the European Commission for quick action, including potential tariffs.

"The threat of injury is blatant," EU ethanol makers' lobby ePure said in a letter to the EU executive. "Record high stocks could flood at low prices an already depressed European market.”

The EU could raise tariffs on ethanol fuel temporarily to allow the industry to recover without being pressured by cheap imports, Sylvain Demoures, head of French ethanol makers lobby SNPAA, suggested.

The French government is preparing a formal request to the EU, the environment minister said last week without giving details. France is the EU's top fuel ethanol maker.

"We need to be vigilant," Alain Commissaire, Chief Executive of French sugar and ethanol maker Cristal Union, told Reuters. "U.S. producers can put in place systems that would destroy us in 12 months."

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Cristal Union had to cut ethanol production by more than 80% since the start of the crisis, he said.

This was only partly compensated by a rise in the production of hand sanitizers to fight COVID-19, an initiative taken by other European producers including French competitor Tereos, Germany's Verbio and Britain's Ineos.

BRAZILIAN EXPORTS

U.S. ethanol had been effectively banned from the European market between 2013 and 2019 by anti-dumping duties, but the European Commission repealed these duties in May last year, saying that a recurrence of dumping was unlikely.

Imports of U.S. ethanol jumped in 2019 with 3.85 million hectolitres imported, up from 1.15 million in 2018, Eurostat data showed. Preliminary data emerging from 2020 show that the trend has continued in the first months of the year, ePure said.

Still, U.S. analysts and traders were cautious about the forecast of a surge in exports.

"We all expect exports to be less than last year. That's a reasonable assumption based on less driving demand around the world," said Craig Willis, senior vice president of global markets at Growth Energy, a U.S. biofuel trade group.

Brazilian ethanol would benefit from the sharp devaluation of the Brazilian real, which is trading near an all-time low against the dollar.

It makes exports particularly attractive for Brazilian mills at a time when local demand is down around 40%, Matheus Sleiman da Costa, a Sao Paulo-based sugar and ethanol analyst at INTL FCStone, said.

Brazilian customs data released on Monday showed that exports of alcohol, a category where ethanol makes up the bulk of volumes, nearly trebled in April at 134.3 million litres, from only 46.1 million litres a year earlier. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Marcelo Teixeira in New York, Michael Hogan in Hamburg, Nigel Hunt in London; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
24.04.20 11:54:27 Key Things To Consider Before Buying VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (ETR:VBK) For Its Dividend
Is VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (ETR:VBK) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. If you are hoping to live on the income from dividends, it's important to be a lot more stringent with your investments than the average punter.

Investors might not know much about VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's dividend prospects, even though it has been paying dividends for the last five years and offers a 2.3% yield. A low yield is generally a turn-off, but if the prospects for earnings growth were strong, investors might be pleasantly surprised by the long-term results. Remember though, given the recent drop in its share price, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's yield will look higher, even though the market may now be expecting a decline in its long-term prospects. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below.

Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis XTRA:VBK Historical Dividend Yield April 24th 2020

Payout ratios

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. In the last year, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie paid out 28% of its profit as dividends. A medium payout ratio strikes a good balance between paying dividends, and keeping enough back to invest in the business. Besides, if reinvestment opportunities dry up, the company has room to increase the dividend.

Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Last year, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie paid a dividend while reporting negative free cash flow. While there may be an explanation, we think this behaviour is generally not sustainable.

With a strong net cash balance, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective.

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Remember, you can always get a snapshot of VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health.

Dividend Volatility

From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. Looking at the data, we can see that VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie has been paying a dividend for the past five years. During the past five-year period, the first annual payment was €0.10 in 2015, compared to €0.20 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 15% per year over this time.

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie has been growing its dividend quite rapidly, which is exciting. However, the short payment history makes us question whether this performance will persist across a full market cycle.

Dividend Growth Potential

While dividend payments have been relatively reliable, it would also be nice if earnings per share (EPS) were growing, as this is essential to maintaining the dividend's purchasing power over the long term. It's good to see VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie has been growing its earnings per share at 51% a year over the past five years. With high earnings per share growth in recent times and a modest payout ratio, we think this is an attractive combination if earnings can be reinvested to generate further growth.

Conclusion

When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. Firstly, the company has a conservative payout ratio, although we'd note that its cashflow in the past year was substantially lower than its reported profit. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the company has not been paying dividends as long as we'd like. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie out there.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. To that end, VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie has 4 warning signs (and 2 which make us uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield above 3%.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.