Piippo Oyj (HEL:PIIPPO) Will Be Hoping To Turn Its Returns On Capital Around

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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Piippo Oyj (HEL:PIIPPO) 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?

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. To calculate this metric for Piippo Oyj, this is the formula:

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

0.035 = €367k ÷ (€14m - €3.8m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Thus, Piippo Oyj has an ROCE of 3.5%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Luxury industry average of 8.2%.

View our latest analysis for Piippo Oyj

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Piippo Oyj compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Piippo Oyj.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Piippo Oyj doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 8.1% 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 related note, Piippo Oyj has decreased its current liabilities to 27% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

The Bottom Line

Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by Piippo Oyj's reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. Since the stock has declined 27% over the last five years, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. All in all, the inherent trends aren't typical of multi-baggers, so if that's what you're after, we think you might have more luck elsewhere.

One more thing to note, we've identified 2 warning signs with Piippo Oyj and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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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.
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