Here’s What YHI International Limited’s (SGX:BPF) Return On Capital Can Tell Us

Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!

Today we are going to look at YHI International Limited (SGX:BPF) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. In particular, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that can give us insight into how profitably the company is able to employ capital in its business.

First, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.'

How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed?

Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:

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

Or for YHI International:

0.033 = S$9.8m ÷ (S$405m - S$108m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)

So, YHI International has an ROCE of 3.3%.

See our latest analysis for YHI International

Is YHI International's ROCE Good?

One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. Using our data, YHI International's ROCE appears to be around the 3.5% average of the Retail Distributors industry. Putting aside YHI International's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is poor - considering the risk of owning stocks compared to government bonds. Readers may wish to look for more rewarding investments.

When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. How cyclical is YHI International? You can see for yourself by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do YHI International's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE?

Liabilities, such as supplier bills and bank overdrafts, are referred to as current liabilities if they need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets.

YHI International has total liabilities of S$108m and total assets of S$405m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 27% of its total assets. This is a modest level of current liabilities, which will have a limited impact on the ROCE.

What We Can Learn From YHI International's ROCE

That's not a bad thing, however YHI International has a weak ROCE and may not be an attractive investment. But note: make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

I will like YHI International better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.