Investors Should Be Encouraged By AIA Engineering's (NSE:AIAENG) Returns On Capital

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. 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 AIA Engineering (NSE:AIAENG) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

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 AIA Engineering is:

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

0.21 = ₹11b ÷ (₹60b - ₹8.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Therefore, AIA Engineering has an ROCE of 21%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Machinery industry average of 16%.

See our latest analysis for AIA Engineering

In the above chart we have measured AIA Engineering's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

The Trend Of ROCE

The trends we've noticed at AIA Engineering are quite reassuring. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 21%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 75%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

In Conclusion...

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what AIA Engineering has. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 94% return over the last five years. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for AIA Engineering 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.