These Return Metrics Don't Make ATCO (TSE:ACO.X) Look Too Strong

If you're looking at a mature business that's past the growth phase, what are some of the underlying trends that pop up? A business that's potentially in decline often shows two trends, a return on capital employed (ROCE) that's declining, and a base of capital employed that's also declining. This reveals that the company isn't compounding shareholder wealth because returns are falling and its net asset base is shrinking. On that note, looking into ATCO (TSE:ACO.X), we weren't too upbeat about how things were going.

What is 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 ATCO is:

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

0.045 = CA$966m ÷ (CA$23b - CA$1.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

Therefore, ATCO has an ROCE of 4.5%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 4.5%, it's still a low return by itself.

Check out our latest analysis for ATCO

In the above chart we have measured ATCO's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

How Are Returns Trending?

In terms of ATCO's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 6.8% that they were earning five years ago. 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 ATCO to turn into a multi-bagger.

The Bottom Line On ATCO's ROCE

In summary, it's unfortunate that ATCO is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. In spite of that, the stock has delivered a 2.3% 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.

ATCO does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for ATCO that you might be interested in.

While ATCO 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.