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Bird Construction (TSE:BDT) Is Investing Its Capital With Increasing Efficiency

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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 the ROCE trend of Bird Construction (TSE:BDT) we really liked what we saw.

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 Bird Construction:

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

0.24 = CA$103m ÷ (CA$1.2b - CA$787m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

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Thus, Bird Construction has an ROCE of 24%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 6.7% earned by companies in a similar industry.

View our latest analysis for Bird Construction

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In the above chart we have measured Bird Construction's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

The Trend Of ROCE

The trends we've noticed at Bird Construction are quite reassuring. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 24%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 122% more capital is being employed now too. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

On a side note, Bird Construction's current liabilities are still rather high at 65% 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. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Bottom Line On Bird Construction's ROCE

All in all, it's terrific to see that Bird Construction is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has only returned 30% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So exploring more about this stock could uncover a good opportunity, if the valuation and other metrics stack up.

Bird Construction does have some risks, we noticed 2 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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