Should We Be Excited About The Trends Of Returns At Sandesh (NSE:SANDESH)?

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding 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. In light of that, when we looked at Sandesh (NSE:SANDESH) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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. To calculate this metric for Sandesh, this is the formula:

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

0.094 = ₹744m ÷ (₹8.4b - ₹495m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2020).

So, Sandesh has an ROCE of 9.4%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 11% average generated by the Media industry.

See our latest analysis for Sandesh

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 Sandesh has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From Sandesh's ROCE Trend?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Sandesh doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 9.4% from 19% five years ago. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

In Conclusion...

We're a bit apprehensive about Sandesh because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last five years have experienced a 16% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

Sandesh does have some risks, we noticed 3 warning signs (and 2 which are a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.

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

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