Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Ergo, when we looked at the ROCE trends at IMI (LON:IMI), we liked what we saw.
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. The formula for this calculation on IMI is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.20 = UK£294m ÷ (UK£2.2b - UK£728m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).
Thus, IMI has an ROCE of 20%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Machinery industry average of 11%.
Check out 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're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
What Does the ROCE Trend For IMI Tell Us?
IMI deserves to be commended in regards to it's returns. The company has employed 28% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 20%. Returns like this are the envy of most businesses and given it has repeatedly reinvested at these rates, that's even better. If IMI can keep this up, we'd be very optimistic about its future.
In Conclusion...
In summary, we're delighted to see that IMI has been compounding returns by reinvesting at consistently high rates of return, as these are common traits of a multi-bagger. However, over the last five years, the stock has only delivered a 21% return to shareholders who held over that period. That's why it could be worth your time looking into this stock further to discover if it has more traits of a multi-bagger.
One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing IMI that you might find interesting.
If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.
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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.
About LSE:IMI
IMI
An engineering company, engages in the design, manufacturing, and servicing of engineering products in the United Kingdom, Germany, rest of Europe, the United States, rest of the Americas, China, rest of the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.
Solid track record with excellent balance sheet.
