Zehnder Group (VTX:ZEHN) Shareholders Will Want The ROCE Trajectory To Continue

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So when we looked at Zehnder Group (VTX:ZEHN) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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. The formula for this calculation on Zehnder Group is:

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

0.19 = €68m ÷ (€562m - €198m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

Therefore, Zehnder Group has an ROCE of 19%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty standard return but compared to the Building industry average it falls behind.

See our latest analysis for Zehnder Group

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Zehnder Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Zehnder Group here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

We like the trends that we're seeing from Zehnder Group. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 19%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 23% more capital is being employed now too. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Zehnder Group thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

The Key Takeaway

All in all, it's terrific to see that Zehnder Group is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And with a respectable 63% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with Zehnder Group and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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