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. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount 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. Although, when we looked at IntriCon (NASDAQ:IIN), 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. To calculate this metric for IntriCon, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.029 = US$3.0m ÷ (US$123m - US$22m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).
So, IntriCon has an ROCE of 2.9%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 8.4%.
Check out our latest analysis for IntriCon
In the above chart we have measured IntriCon'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 IntriCon.
What Can We Tell From IntriCon's ROCE Trend?
There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at IntriCon. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 2.9% and the business has deployed 258% more capital into its operations. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don't provide a high return on capital.
On a side note, IntriCon has done well to reduce current liabilities to 17% of total assets over the last five years. Effectively suppliers now fund less of the business, which can lower some elements of risk.
In Conclusion...
Long story short, while IntriCon has been reinvesting its capital, the returns that it's generating haven't increased. Yet to long term shareholders the stock has gifted them an incredible 184% return in the last five years, so the market appears to be rosy about its future. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.
Like most companies, IntriCon does come with some risks, and we've found 3 warning signs that you should be aware of.