What Can We Make Of Global Gaming 555 AB’s (STO:GLOBAL) High Return On Capital?

Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and receive a $20 prize!

Today we are going to look at Global Gaming 555 AB (STO:GLOBAL) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. In particular, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that can give us insight into how profitably the company is able to employ capital in its business.

Firstly, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. And finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities are impacting its ROCE.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

ROCE measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.'

How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed?

Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:

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

Or for Global Gaming 555:

0.62 = kr133m ÷ (kr380m - kr82m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2018.)

Therefore, Global Gaming 555 has an ROCE of 62%.

View our latest analysis for Global Gaming 555

Does Global Gaming 555 Have A Good ROCE?

ROCE is commonly used for comparing the performance of similar businesses. In our analysis, Global Gaming 555's ROCE is meaningfully higher than the 19% average in the Hospitality industry. I think that's good to see, since it implies the company is better than other companies at making the most of its capital. Setting aside the comparison to its industry for a moment, Global Gaming 555's ROCE in absolute terms currently looks quite high.

It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. How cyclical is Global Gaming 555? You can see for yourself by looking at this freegraph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect Global Gaming 555's ROCE?

Liabilities, such as supplier bills and bank overdrafts, are referred to as current liabilities if they need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets.

Global Gaming 555 has total liabilities of kr82m and total assets of kr380m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 22% of its total assets. The fairly low level of current liabilities won't have much impact on the already great ROCE.

The Bottom Line On Global Gaming 555's ROCE

Low current liabilities and high ROCE is a good combination, making Global Gaming 555 look quite interesting. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this freelist of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.

I will like Global Gaming 555 better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this freelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. On rare occasion, data errors may occur. Thank you for reading.