In This Article:
Today we'll look at Banco Products (India) Limited (NSE:BANCOINDIA) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires.
First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?
ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.
So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?
The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
Or for Banco Products (India):
0.14 = ₹1.3b ÷ (₹12b - ₹3.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)
Therefore, Banco Products (India) has an ROCE of 14%.
View our latest analysis for Banco Products (India)
Is Banco Products (India)'s ROCE Good?
ROCE is commonly used for comparing the performance of similar businesses. It appears that Banco Products (India)'s ROCE is fairly close to the Auto Components industry average of 15%. Aside from the industry comparison, Banco Products (India)'s ROCE is mediocre in absolute terms, considering the risk of investing in stocks versus the safety of a bank account. Readers may find more attractive investment prospects elsewhere.
You can see in the image below how Banco Products (India)'s ROCE compares to its industry. Click to see more on past growth.
Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. You can check if Banco Products (India) has cyclical profits by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Banco Products (India)'s Current Liabilities And Their Impact On Its ROCE
Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.