Yahoo Finance Tourism Holdings (NZSE:THL) Might Be Having Difficulty Using Its Capital Effectively
Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Although, when we looked at Tourism Holdings (NZSE:THL), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Tourism Holdings is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.029 = NZ$13m ÷ (NZ$517m - NZ$74m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).
Thus, Tourism Holdings has an ROCE of 2.9%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Transportation industry average of 7.3%.
See our latest analysis for Tourism Holdings
In the above chart we have measured Tourism Holdings' 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 Tourism Holdings here for free.
How Are Returns Trending?
When we looked at the ROCE trend at Tourism Holdings, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 13% over the last five years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.
The Bottom Line On Tourism Holdings' ROCE
In summary, Tourism Holdings is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Unsurprisingly then, the total return to shareholders over the last five years has been flat. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.
If you'd like to know about the risks facing Tourism Holdings, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should be aware of.
For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.
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. 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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