Skåne-möllan's (STO:SKMO) Returns On Capital Are Heading Higher

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. 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 Skåne-möllan (STO:SKMO) so let's look a bit deeper.

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. To calculate this metric for Skåne-möllan, this is the formula:

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

0.088 = kr15m ÷ (kr201m - kr28m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Skåne-möllan has an ROCE of 8.8%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 8.9%.

See our latest analysis for Skåne-möllan

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 , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of Skåne-möllan.

What Can We Tell From Skåne-möllan's ROCE Trend?

Skåne-möllan has not disappointed with their ROCE growth. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 29% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

The Bottom Line

As discussed above, Skåne-möllan appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 74% return over the last five years. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Skåne-möllan can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

On a separate note, we've found 3 warning signs for Skåne-möllan you'll probably want to know about.

While Skåne-möllan 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.