Should You Like BMTC Group Inc.’s (TSE:GBT) High Return On Capital Employed?

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Today we'll look at BMTC Group Inc. (TSE:GBT) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we're going to calculate its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), in the hopes of getting some insight into the business.

First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

ROCE measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'.

So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?

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 BMTC Group:

0.21 = CA$54m ÷ (CA$368m - CA$118m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to January 2019.)

Therefore, BMTC Group has an ROCE of 21%.

Check out our latest analysis for BMTC Group

Is BMTC Group's ROCE Good?

When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. Using our data, we find that BMTC Group's ROCE is meaningfully better than the 10% average in the Specialty Retail 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. Regardless of the industry comparison, in absolute terms, BMTC Group's ROCE currently appears to be excellent.

BMTC Group's current ROCE of 21% is lower than 3 years ago, when the company reported a 32% ROCE. So investors might consider if it has had issues recently.

It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. Since the future is so important for investors, you should check out our free report on analyst forecasts for BMTC Group.

What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect BMTC Group's ROCE?

Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. 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.

BMTC Group has total assets of CA$368m and current liabilities of CA$118m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 32% of its total assets. A medium level of current liabilities boosts BMTC Group's ROCE somewhat.

Our Take On BMTC Group's ROCE

Even so, it has a great ROCE, and could be an attractive prospect for further research. BMTC Group looks strong on this analysis, but there are plenty of other companies that could be a good opportunity . Here is a free list of companies growing earnings rapidly.

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We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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. Thank you for reading.