Jensen-Group (EBR:JEN) Might Be Having Difficulty Using Its Capital Effectively

June 06, 2021

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Having said that, from a first glance at Jensen-Group (EBR:JEN) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. The formula for this calculation on Jensen-Group is:

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

0.061 = €12m ÷ (€278m - €76m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Therefore, Jensen-Group has an ROCE of 6.1%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Machinery industry average of 8.7%.

See our latest analysis for Jensen-Group

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Jensen-Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Jensen-Group.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Jensen-Group Tell Us?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Jensen-Group doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 22% over the last five years. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

On a related note, Jensen-Group has decreased its current liabilities to 27% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

The Bottom Line

From the above analysis, we find it rather worrisome that returns on capital and sales for Jensen-Group have fallen, meanwhile the business is employing more capital than it was five years ago. In spite of that, the stock has delivered a 7.1% return to shareholders who held over the last five years. Either way, we aren't huge fans of the current trends and so with that we think you might find better investments elsewhere.

On a final note, we found 2 warning signs for Jensen-Group (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable) you should be aware of.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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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. 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.
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