Investors Will Want M Food's (WSE:MFD) Growth In ROCE To Persist

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in M Food's (WSE:MFD) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for M Food:

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

0.0081 = zł904k ÷ (zł153m - zł41m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, M Food has an ROCE of 0.8%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Food industry average of 13%.

View our latest analysis for M Food

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of M Food.

So How Is M Food's ROCE Trending?

Shareholders will be relieved that M Food has broken into profitability. While the business was unprofitable in the past, it's now turned things around and is earning 0.8% on its capital. While returns have increased, the amount of capital employed by M Food has remained flat over the period. So while we're happy that the business is more efficient, just keep in mind that could mean that going forward the business is lacking areas to invest internally for growth. Because in the end, a business can only get so efficient.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, M Food is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. And given the stock has remained rather flat over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here if other metrics are strong. That being the case, research into the company's current valuation metrics and future prospects seems fitting.

If you want to continue researching M Food, you might be interested to know about the 3 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

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.