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Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So, when we ran our eye over SDI Group's (LON:SDI) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for SDI Group:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.12 = UK£8.2m ÷ (UK£80m - UK£11m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2023).
Therefore, SDI Group has an ROCE of 12%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 13% generated by the Electronic industry.
Check out our latest analysis for SDI Group
In the above chart we have measured SDI Group'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 analyst report for SDI Group .
The Trend Of ROCE
The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 12% and the business has deployed 330% more capital into its operations. Since 12% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.
The Bottom Line
The main thing to remember is that SDI Group has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. Despite the good fundamentals, total returns from the stock have been virtually flat over the last five years. That's why we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the fundamentals are appealing.
One more thing to note, we've identified 3 warning signs with SDI Group and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
While SDI Group 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.
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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.