Is Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum (ATH:ELIN) A Future Multi-bagger?

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount 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. So on that note, Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum (ATH:ELIN) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum, this is the formula:

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

0.15 = €9.6m ÷ (€217m - €153m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019).

So, Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum has an ROCE of 15%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Oil and Gas industry average of 7.2% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum is displaying some positive trends. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 15%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 31% more capital is being employed now too. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

Another thing to note, Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 71%. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

Our Take On Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum's ROCE

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 Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum has. And a remarkable 105% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

If you'd like to know more about Elinoil Hellenic Petroleum, we've spotted 2 warning signs, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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