Deepak Nitrite (NSE:DEEPAKNTR) Is Very Good At Capital Allocation

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Deepak Nitrite's (NSE:DEEPAKNTR) look very promising so lets take a look.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Deepak Nitrite:

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

0.39 = ₹14b ÷ (₹44b - ₹7.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

Thus, Deepak Nitrite has an ROCE of 39%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Chemicals industry average of 18%.

See our latest analysis for Deepak Nitrite

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Deepak Nitrite compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

We like the trends that we're seeing from Deepak Nitrite. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 39%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 275% more capital is being employed now too. 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 another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 17%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. This tells us that Deepak Nitrite has grown its returns without a reliance on increasing their current liabilities, which we're very happy with.

What We Can Learn From Deepak Nitrite's ROCE

All in all, it's terrific to see that Deepak Nitrite is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. 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 the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.

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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.