There Are Reasons To Feel Uneasy About Leone Film Group's (BIT:LFG) Returns On Capital

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Leone Film Group (BIT:LFG) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Leone Film Group is:

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

0.051 = €5.4m ÷ (€197m - €92m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Thus, Leone Film Group has an ROCE of 5.1%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Entertainment industry average of 10%.

See our latest analysis for Leone Film Group

In the above chart we have measured Leone Film Group's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Leone Film Group here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of Leone Film Group's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 5.1% from 11% five years ago. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.

On a separate but related note, it's important to know that Leone Film Group has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 47%, which we'd consider pretty high. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

Our Take On Leone Film Group's ROCE

While returns have fallen for Leone Film Group in recent times, we're encouraged to see that sales are growing and that the business is reinvesting in its operations. In light of this, the stock has only gained 4.5% over the last five years. Therefore we'd recommend looking further into this stock to confirm if it has the makings of a good investment.

Like most companies, Leone Film Group does come with some risks, and we've found 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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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.