Lerøy Seafood Group (OB:LSG) May Have Issues Allocating Its 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. However, after investigating Lerøy Seafood Group (OB:LSG), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Understanding 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 Lerøy Seafood Group is:

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

0.076 = kr2.2b ÷ (kr33b - kr4.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Therefore, Lerøy Seafood Group has an ROCE of 7.6%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 8.3%.

See our latest analysis for Lerøy Seafood Group

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Lerøy Seafood Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is Lerøy Seafood Group's ROCE Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Lerøy Seafood Group doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 16% over the last five years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line On Lerøy Seafood Group's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that Lerøy Seafood Group is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Since the stock has gained an impressive 76% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

If you want to continue researching Lerøy Seafood Group, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and 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.