Will Technical Publications Service (BIT:TPS) Multiply In Value Going Forward?

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating Technical Publications Service (BIT:TPS), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

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. To calculate this metric for Technical Publications Service, this is the formula:

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

0.15 = €3.7m ÷ (€36m - €10m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019).

Therefore, Technical Publications Service has an ROCE of 15%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 9.8% generated by the Aerospace & Defense industry.

See our latest analysis for Technical Publications Service

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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Technical Publications Service, check out these free graphs here.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

In terms of Technical Publications Service's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around four years ago the returns on capital were 36%, but since then they've fallen to 15%. 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.

On a related note, Technical Publications Service has decreased its current liabilities to 29% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

Our Take On Technical Publications Service's ROCE

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Technical Publications Service is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. However, despite the promising trends, the stock has fallen 14% over the last three years, so there might be an opportunity here for astute investors. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing Technical Publications Service that you might find interesting.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and 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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