Stock Analysis

These Return Metrics Don't Make Yanbu Cement (TADAWUL:3060) Look Too Strong

SASE:3060
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To avoid investing in a business that's in decline, there's a few financial metrics that can provide early indications of aging. When we see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) in conjunction with a declining base of capital employed, that's often how a mature business shows signs of aging. Trends like this ultimately mean the business is reducing its investments and also earning less on what it has invested. So after we looked into Yanbu Cement (TADAWUL:3060), the trends above didn't look too great.

What is 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. To calculate this metric for Yanbu Cement, this is the formula:

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

0.074 = ر.س225m ÷ (ر.س3.4b - ر.س370m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

So, Yanbu Cement has an ROCE of 7.4%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Basic Materials industry average of 9.4%.

View our latest analysis for Yanbu Cement

roce
SASE:3060 Return on Capital Employed January 11th 2022

In the above chart we have measured Yanbu Cement'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 Can We Tell From Yanbu Cement's ROCE Trend?

In terms of Yanbu Cement's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. About five years ago, returns on capital were 18%, however they're now substantially lower than that as we saw above. Meanwhile, capital employed in the business has stayed roughly the flat over the period. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Yanbu Cement to turn into a multi-bagger.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, it's unfortunate that Yanbu Cement is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. However the stock has delivered a 52% return to shareholders over the last five years, so investors might be expecting the trends to turn around. Regardless, we don't feel too comfortable with the fundamentals so we'd be steering clear of this stock for now.

If you want to continue researching Yanbu Cement, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign 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.