Why The 21% Return On Capital At HIL (NSE:HIL) Should Have Your Attention

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, the ROCE of HIL (NSE:HIL) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

Understanding 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for HIL:

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

0.21 = ₹3.0b ÷ (₹21b - ₹7.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

So, HIL has an ROCE of 21%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 13% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Check out our latest analysis for HIL

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for HIL's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating HIL's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is HIL's ROCE Trending?

We like the trends that we're seeing from HIL. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 21%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 143%. 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.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, HIL has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. Since the stock has returned a staggering 838% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. 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.

If you want to continue researching HIL, you might be interested to know about the 3 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high returns on equity.

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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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