Dabur India (NSE:DABUR) Could Be Struggling To Allocate Capital

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So when we looked at Dabur India (NSE:DABUR), they do have a high ROCE, but we weren't exactly elated from how returns are trending.

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. To calculate this metric for Dabur India, this is the formula:

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

0.22 = ₹18b ÷ (₹108b - ₹29b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

Thus, Dabur India has an ROCE of 22%. On its own that's a fantastic return on capital, though it's the same as the Personal Products industry average of 22%.

View our latest analysis for Dabur India

In the above chart we have measured Dabur India's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Dabur India.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Dabur India Tell Us?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Dabur India, we didn't gain much confidence. While it's comforting that the ROCE is high, five years ago it was 30%. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

The Bottom Line

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Dabur India. And the stock has followed suit returning a meaningful 89% to shareholders over the last five years. So while the underlying trends could already be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

While Dabur India doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform.

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.

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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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