Yahoo Finance What We Think Of Ingenico Group - GCS’s (EPA:ING) Investment Potential
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Today we'll evaluate Ingenico Group - GCS (EPA:ING) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment idea. In particular, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that can give us insight into how profitably the company is able to employ capital in its business.
First, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. And finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities are impacting its ROCE.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
ROCE measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. 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'.
How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed?
The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
Or for Ingenico Group - GCS:
0.081 = €326m ÷ (€6.1b - €2.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)
So, Ingenico Group - GCS has an ROCE of 8.1%.
View our latest analysis for Ingenico Group - GCS
Is Ingenico Group - GCS's ROCE Good?
When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. Using our data, Ingenico Group - GCS's ROCE appears to be around the 8.8% average of the Electronic industry. Setting aside the industry comparison for now, Ingenico Group - GCS's ROCE is mediocre in absolute terms, considering the risk of investing in stocks versus the safety of a bank account. Readers may find more attractive investment prospects elsewhere.
Ingenico Group - GCS's current ROCE of 8.1% is lower than 3 years ago, when the company reported a 15% ROCE. So investors might consider if it has had issues recently.
When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Do Ingenico Group - GCS's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE?
Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.
Ingenico Group - GCS has total liabilities of €2.1b and total assets of €6.1b. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 34% of its total assets. Ingenico Group - GCS's middling level of current liabilities have the effect of boosting its ROCE a bit.
Our Take On Ingenico Group - GCS's ROCE
Despite this, its ROCE is still mediocre, and you may find more appealing investments elsewhere. But note: make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
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.
