Investors Met With Slowing Returns on Capital At Jardine Cycle & Carriage (SGX:C07)
What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, the ROCE of Jardine Cycle & Carriage (SGX:C07) looks decent, right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.
What Is 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 Jardine Cycle & Carriage is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.13 = US$2.7b ÷ (US$29b - US$8.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).
Thus, Jardine Cycle & Carriage has an ROCE of 13%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Industrials industry average of 7.2% it's much better.
View our latest analysis for Jardine Cycle & Carriage
In the above chart we have measured Jardine Cycle & Carriage's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
How Are Returns Trending?
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 13% and the business has deployed 25% more capital into its operations. Since 13% 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 Key Takeaway
In the end, Jardine Cycle & Carriage has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. However, over the last five years, the stock has only delivered a 18% return to shareholders who held over that 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.
One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Jardine Cycle & Carriage that you might find interesting.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
