Yahoo Finance My Food Bag Group (NZSE:MFB) Will Be Looking To Turn Around Its Returns
What financial metrics can indicate to us that a company is maturing or even in decline? A business that's potentially in decline often shows two trends, a return on capital employed (ROCE) that's declining, and a base of capital employed that's also declining. This combination can tell you that not only is the company investing less, it's earning less on what it does invest. So after glancing at the trends within My Food Bag Group (NZSE:MFB), we weren't too hopeful.
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for My Food Bag Group:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.095 = NZ$8.1m ÷ (NZ$108m - NZ$22m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).
Therefore, My Food Bag Group has an ROCE of 9.5%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 11% average generated by the Consumer Retailing industry.
View our latest analysis for My Food Bag Group
Above you can see how the current ROCE for My Food Bag Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
In terms of My Food Bag Group's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. About five years ago, returns on capital were 12%, however they're now substantially lower than that as we saw above. On top of that, it's worth noting that the amount of capital employed within the business has remained relatively steady. Companies that exhibit these attributes tend to not be shrinking, but they can be mature and facing pressure on their margins from competition. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect My Food Bag Group to turn into a multi-bagger.
In Conclusion...
In the end, the trend of lower returns on the same amount of capital isn't typically an indication that we're looking at a growth stock. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 62% from where it was year ago. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.
One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with My Food Bag Group (including 1 which is concerning) .
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.
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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.
