Investors Met With Slowing Returns on Capital At Radico Khaitan (NSE:RADICO)

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. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. That's why when we briefly looked at Radico Khaitan's (NSE:RADICO) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.

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. To calculate this metric for Radico Khaitan, this is the formula:

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

0.16 = ₹3.4b ÷ (₹28b - ₹6.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

So, Radico Khaitan has an ROCE of 16%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 16%.

Check out our latest analysis for Radico Khaitan

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 Radico Khaitan, check out these free graphs here.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Radico Khaitan Tell Us?

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. The company has consistently earned 16% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 71% in that time. Since 16% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

One more thing to note, even though ROCE has remained relatively flat over the last five years, the reduction in current liabilities to 24% of total assets, is good to see from a business owner's perspective. Effectively suppliers now fund less of the business, which can lower some elements of risk.

Our Take On Radico Khaitan's ROCE

The main thing to remember is that Radico Khaitan has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 547% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

If you're still interested in Radico Khaitan it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

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.

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.