Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) Is Experiencing Growth In Returns On Capital
If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. 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. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) so let's look a bit deeper.
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 Perseus Mining:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.18 = AU$240m ÷ (AU$1.5b - AU$141m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).
Thus, Perseus Mining has an ROCE of 18%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Metals and Mining industry average of 8.7% it's much better.
See our latest analysis for Perseus Mining
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Perseus Mining 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 Perseus Mining here for free.
So How Is Perseus Mining's ROCE Trending?
The fact that Perseus Mining is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 18% which is a sight for sore eyes. In addition to that, Perseus Mining is employing 62% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.
What We Can Learn From Perseus Mining's ROCE
In summary, it's great to see that Perseus Mining has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. And a remarkable 500% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.
If you want to continue researching Perseus Mining, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.
For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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.