Has Elton International Trading (ATH:ELTON) Got What It Takes To Become A Multi-Bagger?

If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So, when we ran our eye over Elton International Trading's (ATH:ELTON) trend of ROCE, 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 Elton International Trading is:

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

0.11 = €7.0m ÷ (€104m - €42m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

Therefore, Elton International Trading has an ROCE of 11%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Elton International Trading

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how Elton International Trading has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Elton International Trading Tell Us?

While the returns on capital are good, they haven't moved much. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 11% and the business has deployed 21% more capital into its operations. 11% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Elton International Trading has consistently earned this amount. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

On a side note, Elton International Trading's current liabilities are still rather high at 41% of total assets. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Bottom Line On Elton International Trading's ROCE

The main thing to remember is that Elton International Trading has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. Therefore it's no surprise that shareholders have earned a respectable 59% return if they held over the last five years. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

On a final note, we found 3 warning signs for Elton International Trading (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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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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