National Industrialization's (TADAWUL:2060) Returns On Capital Are Heading Higher

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in National Industrialization's (TADAWUL:2060) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for National Industrialization, this is the formula:

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

0.0068 = ر.س135m ÷ (ر.س24b - ر.س4.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Thus, National Industrialization has an ROCE of 0.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Chemicals industry average of 9.2%.

See our latest analysis for National Industrialization

In the above chart we have measured National Industrialization's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for National Industrialization.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Like most people, we're pleased that National Industrialization is now generating some pretax earnings. Historically the company was generating losses but as we can see from the latest figures referenced above, they're now earning 0.7% on their capital employed. At first glance, it seems the business is getting more proficient at generating returns, because over the same period, the amount of capital employed has reduced by 48%. The reduction could indicate that the company is selling some assets, and considering returns are up, they appear to be selling the right ones.

What We Can Learn From National Industrialization's ROCE

In a nutshell, we're pleased to see that National Industrialization has been able to generate higher returns from less capital. Since the stock has only returned 23% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

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

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.