Could Intertek Group (LON:ITRK) Multiply In Value?

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Ergo, when we looked at the ROCE trends at Intertek Group (LON:ITRK), we liked what we saw.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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 Intertek Group is:

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

0.21 = UK£425m ÷ (UK£2.8b - UK£804m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

Thus, Intertek Group has an ROCE of 21%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Professional Services industry average of 12%.

See our latest analysis for Intertek Group

In the above chart we have measured Intertek Group'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 Intertek Group.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

It's hard not to be impressed by Intertek Group's returns on capital. The company has consistently earned 21% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 31% in that time. With returns that high, it's great that the business can continually reinvest its money at such appealing rates of return. If these trends can continue, it wouldn't surprise us if the company became a multi-bagger.

The Bottom Line On Intertek Group's ROCE

In summary, we're delighted to see that Intertek Group has been compounding returns by reinvesting at consistently high rates of return, as these are common traits of a multi-bagger. And long term investors would be thrilled with the 136% 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.

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

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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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