A Look Into IMI's (LON:IMI) Impressive Returns On Capital

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, the ROCE of IMI (LON:IMI) looks attractive right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on IMI is:

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

0.22 = UK£364m ÷ (UK£2.5b - UK£817m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, IMI has an ROCE of 22%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 13% earned by companies in a similar industry.

View our latest analysis for IMI

In the above chart we have measured IMI's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for IMI.

What Does the ROCE Trend For IMI Tell Us?

IMI deserves to be commended in regards to it's returns. The company has consistently earned 22% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 40% in that time. With returns that high, it's great that the business can continually reinvest its money at such appealing rates of return. You'll see this when looking at well operated businesses or favorable business models.

The Bottom Line On IMI's ROCE

IMI has demonstrated its proficiency by generating high returns on increasing amounts of capital employed, which we're thrilled about. And long term investors would be thrilled with the 102% return they've received over the last five years. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for IMI that we think you should be aware of.

IMI is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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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.