Investors Could Be Concerned With Unidata's (BIT:UD) Returns On Capital

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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. However, after investigating Unidata (BIT:UD), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

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

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 Unidata, this is the formula:

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

0.11 = €4.9m ÷ (€62m - €19m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Thus, Unidata has an ROCE of 11%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 3.6% generated by the Telecom industry.

View our latest analysis for Unidata

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Unidata 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 Unidata here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Unidata Tell Us?

In terms of Unidata's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around three years ago the returns on capital were 26%, but since then they've fallen to 11%. 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 related note, Unidata has decreased its current liabilities to 30% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

Our Take On Unidata's ROCE

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Unidata. And long term investors must be optimistic going forward because the stock has returned a huge 114% to shareholders in the last year. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we would look further into this stock to make sure the other metrics justify the positive view.

One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Unidata that you might find interesting.

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