Yahoo Finance Sanford (NZSE:SAN) Might Be Having Difficulty Using Its Capital Effectively
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at Sanford (NZSE:SAN) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for Sanford, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.027 = NZ$23m ÷ (NZ$972m - NZ$117m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).
Thus, Sanford has an ROCE of 2.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Food industry average of 7.7%.
Check out our latest analysis for Sanford
In the above chart we have measured Sanford's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Sanford.
What Does the ROCE Trend For Sanford Tell Us?
In terms of Sanford's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 6.7%, but since then they've fallen to 2.7%. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.
In Conclusion...
In summary, we're somewhat concerned by Sanford's diminishing returns on increasing amounts of capital. And long term shareholders have watched their investments stay flat over the last five years. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.
On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Sanford that we think you should be aware of.
While Sanford may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.
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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