Eimco Elecon (India) (NSE:EIMCOELECO) Will Be Hoping To Turn Its Returns On Capital Around

If you're looking at a mature business that's past the growth phase, what are some of the underlying trends that pop up? More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. Trends like this ultimately mean the business is reducing its investments and also earning less on what it has invested. So after we looked into Eimco Elecon (India) (NSE:EIMCOELECO), the trends above didn't look too great.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Eimco Elecon (India):

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

0.03 = ₹103m ÷ (₹3.7b - ₹256m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

Thus, Eimco Elecon (India) has an ROCE of 3.0%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Machinery industry average of 14%.

Check out our latest analysis for Eimco Elecon (India)

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Eimco Elecon (India)'s ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Eimco Elecon (India) has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Are Returns Trending?

There is reason to be cautious about Eimco Elecon (India), given the returns are trending downwards. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 5.9% that they were earning five years ago. Meanwhile, capital employed in the business has stayed roughly the flat over the period. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Eimco Elecon (India) to turn into a multi-bagger.

The Bottom Line

In the end, the trend of lower returns on the same amount of capital isn't typically an indication that we're looking at a growth stock. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 32% over the last five years, so it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

If you'd like to know more about Eimco Elecon (India), we've spotted 3 warning signs, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

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. 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.