Be Wary Of Flughafen Wien (VIE:FLU) And Its Returns On Capital

What financial metrics can indicate to us that a company is maturing or even in decline? Businesses in decline often have two underlying trends, firstly, a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining base of capital employed. Trends like this ultimately mean the business is reducing its investments and also earning less on what it has invested. So after we looked into Flughafen Wien (VIE:FLU), the trends above didn't look too great.

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

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Flughafen Wien, this is the formula:

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

0.011 = €19m ÷ (€2.1b - €254m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

Thus, Flughafen Wien has an ROCE of 1.1%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Infrastructure industry average of 7.2%.

View our latest analysis for Flughafen Wien

In the above chart we have measured Flughafen Wien's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Flughafen Wien here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Flughafen Wien Tell Us?

In terms of Flughafen Wien's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, the ROCE was 11% five years ago, but since then it has dropped noticeably. On top of that, it's worth noting that the amount of capital employed within the business has remained relatively steady. This combination can be indicative of a mature business that still has areas to deploy capital, but the returns received aren't as high due potentially to new competition or smaller margins. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Flughafen Wien to turn into a multi-bagger.

What We Can Learn From Flughafen Wien's ROCE

All in all, the lower returns from the same amount of capital employed aren't exactly signs of a compounding machine. And long term shareholders have watched their investments stay flat over the last five years. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

While Flughafen Wien doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform.

While Flughafen Wien 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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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.