Veto Switchgears and Cables (NSE:VETO) Could Be Struggling To Allocate Capital

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. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at Veto Switchgears and Cables (NSE:VETO), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for Veto Switchgears and Cables, this is the formula:

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

0.15 = ₹356m ÷ (₹3.3b - ₹850m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Therefore, Veto Switchgears and Cables has an ROCE of 15%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 15%.

Check out our latest analysis for Veto Switchgears and Cables

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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Veto Switchgears and Cables, check out these free graphs here.

SWOT Analysis for Veto Switchgears and Cables

What Does the ROCE Trend For Veto Switchgears and Cables Tell Us?

In terms of Veto Switchgears and Cables' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 27% over the last five years. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

What We Can Learn From Veto Switchgears and Cables' ROCE

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Veto Switchgears and Cables is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. However, despite the promising trends, the stock has fallen 46% over the last five years, so there might be an opportunity here for astute investors. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

Veto Switchgears and Cables does come with some risks though, we found 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

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.