Woolworths chief Brad Banducci couldn’t give senators his company’s ‘return on equity’. What exactly is this figure, and what can it tell us about a company’s profit?
- Written by Sean Pinder, Associate Professor, Finance , The University of Melbourne
During yesterday’s senate inquiry into supermarket pricing, Greens senator Nick McKim threatened to hold outgoing Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci in contempt for refusing to directly answer questions about the company’s profitability.
McKim repeatedly asked Banducci for details about Woolworths’ return on equity, but the...