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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. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So, when we ran our eye over Vodacom Group's (JSE:VOD) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?
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. To calculate this metric for Vodacom Group, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.18 = R25b ÷ (R196b - R58b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
Thus, Vodacom Group has an ROCE of 18%. In isolation, that's a pretty standard return but against the Wireless Telecom industry average of 36%, it's not as good.
See our latest analysis for Vodacom Group
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Vodacom Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Vodacom Group here for free.
How Are Returns Trending?
While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 18% and the business has deployed 34% more capital into its operations. 18% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Vodacom Group has consistently earned this amount. 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.
Our Take On Vodacom Group's ROCE
The main thing to remember is that Vodacom Group has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. In light of this, the stock has only gained 1.8% over the last five years for shareholders who have owned the stock in this period. That's why it could be worth your time looking into this stock further to discover if it has more traits of a multi-bagger.
On a final note, we've found 3 warning signs for Vodacom Group that we think you should be aware of.
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.