Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de (BMV:OMAB) Is Investing Its Capital With Increasing Efficiency

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at the ROCE trend of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de (BMV:OMAB) we really liked what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de is:

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

0.34 = Mex$5.6b ÷ (Mex$21b - Mex$4.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

So, Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de has an ROCE of 34%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Infrastructure industry average of 12%.

Check out our latest analysis for Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de

In the above chart we have measured Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de Tell Us?

The trends we've noticed at Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de are quite reassuring. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 34%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 34% more capital is being employed now too. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. Essentially the business now has suppliers or short-term creditors funding about 20% of its operations, which isn't ideal. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

The Bottom Line On Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de's ROCE

All in all, it's terrific to see that Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de that you might find interesting.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high 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.