Yahoo Finance How Do Senior plc’s (LON:SNR) Returns Compare To Its Industry?
Today we are going to look at Senior plc (LON:SNR) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business.
Firstly, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'.
So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?
Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
Or for Senior:
0.081 = UK£74m ÷ (UK£1.1b - UK£240m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)
So, Senior has an ROCE of 8.1%.
View our latest analysis for Senior
Is Senior's ROCE Good?
ROCE can be useful when making comparisons, such as between similar companies. Using our data, Senior's ROCE appears to be significantly below the 12% average in the Aerospace & Defense industry. This could be seen as a negative, as it suggests some competitors may be employing their capital more efficiently. Aside from the industry comparison, Senior's ROCE is mediocre in absolute terms, considering the risk of investing in stocks versus the safety of a bank account. It is possible that there are more rewarding investments out there.
You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Senior's past growth compares to other companies.
When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
How Senior's Current Liabilities Impact Its ROCE
Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.
Senior has total liabilities of UK£240m and total assets of UK£1.1b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 21% of its total assets. This very reasonable level of current liabilities would not boost the ROCE by much.
Our Take On Senior's ROCE
With that in mind, we're not overly impressed with Senior's ROCE, so it may not be the most appealing prospect. Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Senior. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.
I will like Senior better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
