Returns On Capital At VEEM (ASX:VEE) Have Stalled

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think VEEM (ASX:VEE) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for VEEM:

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

0.079 = AU$5.9m ÷ (AU$92m - AU$17m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, VEEM has an ROCE of 7.9%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Machinery industry average of 9.7%.

View our latest analysis for VEEM

In the above chart we have measured VEEM's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for VEEM.

So How Is VEEM's ROCE Trending?

In terms of VEEM's historical ROCE trend, it doesn't exactly demand attention. The company has consistently earned 7.9% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 94% in that time. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

The Bottom Line On VEEM's ROCE

In summary, VEEM has simply been reinvesting capital and generating the same low rate of return as before. Investors must think there's better things to come because the stock has knocked it out of the park, delivering a 149% gain to shareholders who have held over the last five years. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

VEEM could be trading at an attractive price in other respects, so you might find our free intrinsic value estimation on our platform quite valuable.

While VEEM may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.