Aksh Optifibre (NSE:AKSHOPTFBR) Shareholders Will Want The ROCE Trajectory To Continue

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Aksh Optifibre (NSE:AKSHOPTFBR) so let's look a bit deeper.

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

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Aksh Optifibre:

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

0.10 = ₹151m ÷ (₹4.8b - ₹3.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Therefore, Aksh Optifibre has an ROCE of 10%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 11% generated by the Communications industry.

View our latest analysis for Aksh Optifibre

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'd like to look at how Aksh Optifibre has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

You'd find it hard not to be impressed with the ROCE trend at Aksh Optifibre. The data shows that returns on capital have increased by 43% over the trailing five years. That's not bad because this tells for every dollar invested (capital employed), the company is increasing the amount earned from that dollar. Speaking of capital employed, the company is actually utilizing 71% less than it was five years ago, which can be indicative of a business that's improving its efficiency. If this trend continues, the business might be getting more efficient but it's shrinking in terms of total assets.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. The current liabilities has increased to 70% of total assets, so the business is now more funded by the likes of its suppliers or short-term creditors. Given it's pretty high ratio, we'd remind investors that having current liabilities at those levels can bring about some risks in certain businesses.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, it's great to see that Aksh Optifibre has been able to turn things around and earn higher returns on lower amounts of capital. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 37% in the last five years. That being the case, research into the company's current valuation metrics and future prospects seems fitting.

One more thing: We've identified 3 warning signs with Aksh Optifibre (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding these would certainly be useful.

While Aksh Optifibre 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.

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.