If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out 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. In light of that, when we looked at Vicat (EPA:VCT) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.
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. To calculate this metric for Vicat, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.063 = €273m ÷ (€5.2b - €897m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).
Therefore, Vicat has an ROCE of 6.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Basic Materials industry average of 9.1%.
Check out our latest analysis for Vicat
In the above chart we have measured Vicat's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
What Can We Tell From Vicat's ROCE Trend?
Over the past five years, Vicat's ROCE and capital employed have both remained mostly flat. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Vicat in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger. With fewer investment opportunities, it makes sense that Vicat has been paying out a decent 30% of its earnings to shareholders. Given the business isn't reinvesting in itself, it makes sense to distribute a portion of earnings among shareholders.
What We Can Learn From Vicat's ROCE
We can conclude that in regards to Vicat's returns on capital employed and the trends, there isn't much change to report on. Unsurprisingly then, the total return to shareholders over the last five years has been flat. 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 1 warning sign for Vicat you'll probably want to know about.
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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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About ENXTPA:VCT
Vicat
Engages in the production and sale of cement, ready-mixed concrete, and aggregates for construction industry.
Undervalued with solid track record and pays a dividend.
