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Why You Should Like IMI plc’s (LON:IMI) ROCE

Today we'll look at IMI plc (LON:IMI) and reflect on its potential as an investment. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business.

First, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Then we'll determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

ROCE measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. 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:

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Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

Or for IMI:

0.22 = UK£272m ÷ (UK£1.9b - UK£639m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)

Therefore, IMI has an ROCE of 22%.

View our latest analysis for IMI

Does IMI Have A Good ROCE?

ROCE is commonly used for comparing the performance of similar businesses. Using our data, we find that IMI's ROCE is meaningfully better than the 13% average in the Machinery industry. We consider this a positive sign, because it suggests it uses capital more efficiently than similar companies. Regardless of the industry comparison, in absolute terms, IMI's ROCE currently appears to be excellent.

The image below shows how IMI's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth.

LSE:IMI Past Revenue and Net Income, October 20th 2019
LSE:IMI Past Revenue and Net Income, October 20th 2019

Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. What happens in the future is pretty important for investors, so we have prepared a free report on analyst forecasts for IMI.

IMI's Current Liabilities And Their Impact On Its ROCE

Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets.

IMI has total liabilities of UK£639m and total assets of UK£1.9b. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 34% of its total assets. IMI has a medium level of current liabilities, boosting its ROCE somewhat.

What We Can Learn From IMI's ROCE

Still, it has a high ROCE, and may be an interesting prospect for further research. IMI shapes up well under this analysis, but it is far from the only business delivering excellent numbers . You might also want to check this free collection of companies delivering excellent earnings growth.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.