Rotork (LON:ROR) Knows How To Allocate Capital Effectively

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. With that in mind, the ROCE of Rotork (LON:ROR) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Rotork:

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

0.22 = UK£132m ÷ (UK£715m - UK£117m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Thus, Rotork has an ROCE of 22%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 10% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Rotork

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Rotork compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Rotork here for free.

What Can We Tell From Rotork's ROCE Trend?

Rotork is showing promise given that its ROCE is trending up and to the right. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 53% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So our take on this is that the business has increased efficiencies to generate these higher returns, all the while not needing to make any additional investments. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

In Conclusion...

To sum it up, Rotork is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 76% return over the last five years. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

Like most companies, Rotork does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high returns on equity.

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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.
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