Capital Allocation Trends At INDUS Holding (ETR:INH) Aren't Ideal

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at INDUS Holding (ETR:INH), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on INDUS Holding is:

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

0.079 = €111m ÷ (€1.9b - €481m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Therefore, INDUS Holding has an ROCE of 7.9%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 6.1% generated by the Industrials industry, it's much better.

View our latest analysis for INDUS Holding

Above you can see how the current ROCE for INDUS Holding compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering INDUS Holding here for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at INDUS Holding, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 7.9% from 12% five years ago. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line On INDUS Holding's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that INDUS Holding is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 21% in the last five years. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

On a separate note, we've found 3 warning signs for INDUS Holding you'll probably want to know about.

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.

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.

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