The Return Trends At Vimi Fasteners (BIT:VIM) Look Promising

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. 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So when we looked at Vimi Fasteners (BIT:VIM) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

What Is 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 Vimi Fasteners:

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

0.066 = €3.1m ÷ (€79m - €33m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Therefore, Vimi Fasteners has an ROCE of 6.6%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Machinery industry average of 11%.

View our latest analysis for Vimi Fasteners

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Vimi Fasteners compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Vimi Fasteners .

What Does the ROCE Trend For Vimi Fasteners Tell Us?

Vimi Fasteners has broken into the black (profitability) and we're sure it's a sight for sore eyes. The company was generating losses five years ago, but has managed to turn it around and as we saw earlier is now earning 6.6%, which is always encouraging. On top of that, what's interesting is that the amount of capital being employed has remained steady, so the business hasn't needed to put any additional money to work to generate these higher returns. With no noticeable increase in capital employed, it's worth knowing what the company plans on doing going forward in regards to reinvesting and growing the business. So if you're looking for high growth, you'll want to see a business's capital employed also increasing.

Another thing to note, Vimi Fasteners has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 41%. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Bottom Line On Vimi Fasteners' ROCE

As discussed above, Vimi Fasteners appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 49% in the last five years. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Vimi Fasteners (of which 1 is potentially serious!) that you should know about.

While Vimi Fasteners 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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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.