Yahoo Finance Slowing Rates Of Return At Energiekontor (ETR:EKT) Leave Little Room For Excitement
If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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. With that in mind, the ROCE of Energiekontor (ETR:EKT) looks decent, right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.
What Is 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. The formula for this calculation on Energiekontor is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.19 = €67m ÷ (€565m - €211m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
Thus, Energiekontor has an ROCE of 19%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 6.3% generated by the Electrical industry.
See our latest analysis for Energiekontor
In the above chart we have measured Energiekontor's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Energiekontor here for free.
What Does the ROCE Trend For Energiekontor Tell Us?
While the returns on capital are good, they haven't moved much. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 19% and the business has deployed 35% more capital into its operations. Since 19% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.
On another note, while the change in ROCE trend might not scream for attention, it's interesting that the current liabilities have actually gone up over the last five years. This is intriguing because if current liabilities hadn't increased to 37% of total assets, this reported ROCE would probably be less than19% because total capital employed would be higher.The 19% ROCE could be even lower if current liabilities weren't 37% of total assets, because the the formula would show a larger base of total capital employed. So while current liabilities isn't high right now, keep an eye out in case it increases further, because this can introduce some elements of risk.
The Bottom Line On Energiekontor's ROCE
The main thing to remember is that Energiekontor has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 577% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.
One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing Energiekontor that you might find interesting.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.
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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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