Yahoo Finance Returns On Capital Signal Tricky Times Ahead For Character Group (LON:CCT)
If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So when we looked at Character Group (LON:CCT), they do have a high ROCE, but we weren't exactly elated from how returns are trending.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?
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 Character Group:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.32 = UK£12m ÷ (UK£68m - UK£32m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2022).
Thus, Character Group has an ROCE of 32%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Leisure industry average of 20%.
Check out our latest analysis for Character Group
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Character 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 Character Group here for free.
How Are Returns Trending?
When we looked at the ROCE trend at Character Group, we didn't gain much confidence. Historically returns on capital were even higher at 46%, but they have dropped over the last five years. 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. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.
On a side note, Character Group's current liabilities are still rather high at 47% of total assets. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.
The Bottom Line
Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Character Group. In light of this, the stock has only gained 26% over the last five years. Therefore we'd recommend looking further into this stock to confirm if it has the makings of a good investment.
Character Group does come with some risks though, we found 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those can't be ignored...
If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning 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.
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