Returns Are Gaining Momentum At Swiss Steel Holding (VTX:STLN)

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. So on that note, Swiss Steel Holding (VTX:STLN) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Swiss Steel Holding:

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

0.047 = €62m ÷ (€2.2b - €878m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

So, Swiss Steel Holding has an ROCE of 4.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Metals and Mining industry average of 13%.

View our latest analysis for Swiss Steel Holding

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Swiss Steel Holding's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating Swiss Steel Holding's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

While the ROCE isn't as high as some other companies out there, it's great to see it's on the up. Looking at the data, we can see that even though capital employed in the business has remained relatively flat, the ROCE generated has risen by 3,127% over the last five years. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company's efficiencies. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

On a separate but related note, it's important to know that Swiss Steel Holding has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 40%, which we'd consider pretty high. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

Our Take On Swiss Steel Holding's ROCE

To bring it all together, Swiss Steel Holding has done well to increase the returns it's generating from its capital employed. And since the stock has fallen 51% over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

If you want to continue researching Swiss Steel Holding, you might be interested to know about the 3 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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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.