Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (ASX:CCL) Earns A Nice Return On Capital Employed

Today we are going to look at Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (ASX:CCL) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires.

First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE.

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

ROCE measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. 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 Coca-Cola Amatil:

0.14 = AU$674m ÷ (AU$6.3b - AU$1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)

So, Coca-Cola Amatil has an ROCE of 14%.

View our latest analysis for Coca-Cola Amatil

Does Coca-Cola Amatil Have A Good ROCE?

When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. Coca-Cola Amatil's ROCE appears to be substantially greater than the 9.8% average in the Beverage industry. I think that's good to see, since it implies the company is better than other companies at making the most of its capital. Separate from Coca-Cola Amatil's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms looks satisfactory, and it may be worth researching in more depth.

You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Coca-Cola Amatil's past growth compares to other companies.

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. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Do Coca-Cola Amatil's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE?

Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.

Coca-Cola Amatil has total assets of AU$6.3b and current liabilities of AU$1.7b. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 26% of its total assets. Low current liabilities are not boosting the ROCE too much.

The Bottom Line On Coca-Cola Amatil's ROCE

Overall, Coca-Cola Amatil has a decent ROCE and could be worthy of further research. Coca-Cola Amatil shapes up well under this analysis, but it is far from the only business delivering excellent numbers . You might also want to check this free collection of companies delivering excellent earnings growth.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.

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