The Trends At Just Dial (NSE:JUSTDIAL) That You Should Know About

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at Just Dial (NSE:JUSTDIAL) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

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 Just Dial, this is the formula:

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

0.14 = ₹2.0b ÷ (₹18b - ₹4.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

Thus, Just Dial has an ROCE of 14%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 14%.

See our latest analysis for Just Dial

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Just Dial compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Just Dial here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

In terms of Just Dial's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 20%, but since then they've fallen to 14%. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line On Just Dial's ROCE

In summary, Just Dial is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 27% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Just Dial that we think you should be aware of.

While Just Dial may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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