BinDawood Holding (TADAWUL:4161) Might Be Having Difficulty Using Its Capital Effectively

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. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at BinDawood Holding (TADAWUL:4161) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. The formula for this calculation on BinDawood Holding is:

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

0.045 = ر.س162m ÷ (ر.س5.3b - ر.س1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

Therefore, BinDawood Holding has an ROCE of 4.5%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Consumer Retailing industry average of 15%.

View our latest analysis for BinDawood Holding

In the above chart we have measured BinDawood Holding's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering BinDawood Holding here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

When we looked at the ROCE trend at BinDawood Holding, we didn't gain much confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 39%, but since then they've fallen to 4.5%. 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 side note, BinDawood Holding has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 32% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

Our Take On BinDawood Holding'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 BinDawood Holding. However, despite the promising trends, the stock has fallen 23% over the last year, so there might be an opportunity here for astute investors. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

One more thing to note, we've identified 3 warning signs with BinDawood Holding and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

While BinDawood Holding 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. 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.