Returns On Capital Are Showing Encouraging Signs At Infrea (STO:INFREA)

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Infrea (STO:INFREA) so let's look a bit deeper.

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 Infrea, this is the formula:

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

0.0065 = kr4.9m ÷ (kr1.1b - kr358m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

So, Infrea has an ROCE of 0.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Industrials industry average of 13%.

View our latest analysis for Infrea

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, revenue and cash flow of Infrea, check out these free graphs here.

The Trend Of ROCE

The fact that Infrea is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 0.7% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 528% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

Our Take On Infrea's ROCE

To the delight of most shareholders, Infrea has now broken into profitability. Since the stock has only returned 20% to shareholders over the last three years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

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

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.