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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. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding 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. Having said that, from a first glance at Heavitree Brewery (LON:HVTA) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Heavitree Brewery:

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

0.081 = UK£1.5m ÷ (UK£20m - UK£2.4m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2020).

Thus, Heavitree Brewery has an ROCE of 8.1%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Hospitality industry average of 6.8%.

See our latest analysis for Heavitree Brewery

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how Heavitree Brewery has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Heavitree Brewery Tell Us?

Over the past five years, Heavitree Brewery's ROCE and capital employed have both remained mostly flat. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. With that in mind, unless investment picks up again in the future, we wouldn't expect Heavitree Brewery to be a multi-bagger going forward.

The Key Takeaway

We can conclude that in regards to Heavitree Brewery's returns on capital employed and the trends, there isn't much change to report on. And with the stock having returned a mere 18% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

On a final note, we've found 3 warning signs for Heavitree Brewery that we think you should be aware of.