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Returns On Capital At Elders (ASX:ELD) Paint A Concerning Picture

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. In light of that, when we looked at Elders (ASX:ELD) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Elders:

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

0.16 = AU$132m ÷ (AU$1.7b - AU$906m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

Thus, Elders has an ROCE of 16%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 5.7% generated by the Food industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Elders

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In the above chart we have measured Elders' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Elders here for free.

So How Is Elders' ROCE Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Elders doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 16% from 31% five years ago. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

On a side note, Elders has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 52% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money. Either way, they're still at a pretty high level, so we'd like to see them fall further if possible.

What We Can Learn From Elders' ROCE

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Elders. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 263% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while the underlying trends could already be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Elders, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

While Elders isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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.

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