Returns On Capital At Intertek Group (LON:ITRK) Have Stalled

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, 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. So when we looked at Intertek Group (LON:ITRK), they do have a high ROCE, but we weren't exactly elated from how returns are trending.

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. To calculate this metric for Intertek Group, this is the formula:

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

0.24 = UK£434m ÷ (UK£2.6b - UK£794m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

So, Intertek Group has an ROCE of 24%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 12% earned by companies in a similar industry.

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, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Intertek Group here for free.

What Can We Tell From Intertek Group's ROCE Trend?

Over the past five years, Intertek Group's ROCE and capital employed have both remained mostly flat. It's not uncommon to see this when looking at a mature and stable business that isn't re-investing its earnings because it has likely passed that phase of the business cycle. Although current returns are high, we'd need more evidence of underlying growth for it to look like a multi-bagger going forward. With fewer investment opportunities, it makes sense that Intertek Group has been paying out a decent 52% of its earnings to shareholders. Unless businesses have highly compelling growth opportunities, they'll typically return some money to shareholders.

In Conclusion...

In summary, Intertek Group isn't compounding its earnings but is generating decent returns on the same amount of capital employed. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 65% over the last five years. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Intertek Group you'll probably want to know about.

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.