Many Would Be Envious Of Spirax-Sarco Engineering's (LON:SPX) Excellent Returns On Capital

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next 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. That's why when we briefly looked at Spirax-Sarco Engineering's (LON:SPX) ROCE trend, we were very happy with what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Spirax-Sarco Engineering:

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

0.20 = UK£280m ÷ (UK£1.7b - UK£370m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Thus, Spirax-Sarco Engineering has an ROCE of 20%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 11% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Spirax-Sarco Engineering

In the above chart we have measured Spirax-Sarco Engineering's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Spirax-Sarco Engineering here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Spirax-Sarco Engineering deserves to be commended in regards to it's returns. The company has consistently earned 20% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 117% in that time. Returns like this are the envy of most businesses and given it has repeatedly reinvested at these rates, that's even better. If these trends can continue, it wouldn't surprise us if the company became a multi-bagger.

The Bottom Line

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 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 281% return they've received over the last five years. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.

Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation that compares the share price and estimated value.

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 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.