Be Wary Of Premier Fishing & Brands (JSE:PFB) And Its Returns On Capital

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Having said that, from a first glance at Premier Fishing & Brands (JSE:PFB) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding 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. The formula for this calculation on Premier Fishing & Brands is:

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

0.012 = R11m ÷ (R999m - R74m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2021).

Therefore, Premier Fishing & Brands has an ROCE of 1.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Food industry average of 13%.

View our latest analysis for Premier Fishing & Brands

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'd like to look at how Premier Fishing & Brands has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Premier Fishing & Brands, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 1.2% from 21% five years ago. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.

On a related note, Premier Fishing & Brands has decreased its current liabilities to 7.4% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

The Bottom Line On Premier Fishing & Brands' ROCE

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Premier Fishing & Brands is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. But since the stock has dived 71% in the last three years, there could be other drivers that are influencing the business' outlook. Regardless, reinvestment can pay off in the long run, so we think astute investors may want to look further into this stock.

Premier Fishing & Brands does have some risks, we noticed 3 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

While Premier Fishing & Brands 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.