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There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Bodycote (LON:BOY) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?
If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Bodycote:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.15 = UK£116m ÷ (UK£1.1b - UK£291m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).
So, Bodycote has an ROCE of 15%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 14% generated by the Machinery industry.
Check out our latest analysis for Bodycote
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Bodycote 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 Bodycote for free.
What Can We Tell From Bodycote's ROCE Trend?
Over the past five years, Bodycote'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. So don't be surprised if Bodycote doesn't end up being a multi-bagger in a few years time. With fewer investment opportunities, it makes sense that Bodycote has been paying out a decent 44% of its earnings to shareholders. Given the business isn't reinvesting in itself, it makes sense to distribute a portion of earnings among shareholders.
Another point to note, we noticed the company has increased current liabilities over the last five years. This is intriguing because if current liabilities hadn't increased to 27% of total assets, this reported ROCE would probably be less than15% because total capital employed would be higher.The 15% ROCE could be even lower if current liabilities weren't 27% of total assets, because the the formula would show a larger base of total capital employed. So while current liabilities isn't high right now, keep an eye out in case it increases further, because this can introduce some elements of risk.