Some Investors May Be Worried About Puerto Ventanas' (SNSE:VENTANAS) Returns On Capital

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Puerto Ventanas (SNSE:VENTANAS) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

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

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Puerto Ventanas is:

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

0.11 = US$31m ÷ (US$336m - US$60m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Thus, Puerto Ventanas has an ROCE of 11%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Infrastructure industry average of 7.1% it's much better.

View our latest analysis for Puerto Ventanas

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Puerto Ventanas' ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Puerto Ventanas, check out these free graphs here.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Puerto Ventanas doesn't inspire confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 16%, but since then they've fallen to 11%. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. 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.

The Bottom Line

In summary, we're somewhat concerned by Puerto Ventanas' diminishing returns on increasing amounts of capital. Yet despite these concerning fundamentals, the stock has performed strongly with a 54% return over the last five years, so investors appear very optimistic. In any case, the current underlying trends don't bode well for long term performance so unless they reverse, we'd start looking elsewhere.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Puerto Ventanas (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored) .

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.

If you’re looking to trade a wide range of investments, open an account with the lowest-cost* platform trusted by professionals, Interactive Brokers. Their clients from over 200 countries and territories trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds worldwide from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.