Is Ottogi (KRX:007310) Likely To Turn Things Around?

If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Ottogi (KRX:007310) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Ottogi is:

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

0.10 = ₩191b ÷ (₩2.5t - ₩622b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

Thus, Ottogi has an ROCE of 10%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Food industry average of 6.9% it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for Ottogi

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ottogi 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 report for Ottogi.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Ottogi doesn't inspire confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 13%, but since then they've fallen to 10%. 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.

The Bottom Line

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Ottogi. However, despite the promising trends, the stock has fallen 57% over the last five years, so there might be an opportunity here for astute investors. So we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the trends look encouraging.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Ottogi you'll probably want to know about.

While Ottogi isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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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