Yahoo Finance Fresenius Medical Care (ETR:FME) Will Be Hoping To Turn Its Returns On Capital Around
When we're researching a company, it's sometimes hard to find the warning signs, but there are some financial metrics that can help spot trouble early. More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. This indicates the company is producing less profit from its investments and its total assets are decreasing. On that note, looking into Fresenius Medical Care (ETR:FME), we weren't too upbeat about how things were going.
What Is 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 Fresenius Medical Care:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.056 = €1.6b ÷ (€34b - €6.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).
Thus, Fresenius Medical Care has an ROCE of 5.6%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 6.0%.
Check out our latest analysis for Fresenius Medical Care
In the above chart we have measured Fresenius Medical Care's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Fresenius Medical Care .
How Are Returns Trending?
In terms of Fresenius Medical Care's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 8.8% that they were earning five years ago. On top of that, it's worth noting that the amount of capital employed within the business has remained relatively steady. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Fresenius Medical Care 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 34% from where it was five years ago. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.
On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Fresenius Medical Care that we think you should be aware of.
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.
