The Returns On Capital At OHB (ETR:OHB) Don't Inspire Confidence

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating OHB (ETR:OHB), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for OHB:

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

0.085 = €40m ÷ (€948m - €475m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

Therefore, OHB has an ROCE of 8.5%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 9.5% average generated by the Aerospace & Defense industry.

See our latest analysis for OHB

Above you can see how the current ROCE for OHB compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

How Are Returns Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at OHB, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 12% over the last five years. 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.

On a side note, OHB's current liabilities are still rather high at 50% of total assets. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, we've found that OHB is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Yet to long term shareholders the stock has gifted them an incredible 112% return in the last five years, so the market appears to be rosy about its future. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing OHB, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

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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