Today we are going to look at Design Capital Limited (
HKG:1545
) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. In particular,jaffrey new hampshire obituaries we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that can give us insight into how profitably the company is able to employ capital in its business.
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.
What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin
has suggested
that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'.
So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?
Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
Or for Design Capital:
0.18 = S$9.5m ÷ (S$79m - S$26m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)
Therefore,
Design Capital has an ROCE of 18%.
Check out our latest analysis for Design Capital
Does Design Capital Have A Good ROCE?
One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. In our analysis, Design Capital's ROCE is meaningfully higher than the 7.6% average in the Trade Distributors industry. We consider this a positive sign, because it suggests it uses capital more efficiently than similar companies. Separate from Design Capital's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms looks satisfactory, and it may be worth researching in more depth.
The image below shows how Design Capital's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth.
SEHK:1545 Past Revenue and Net Income, January 1st 2020
It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. If Design Capital is cyclical, it could make sense to check out this
free
graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow
.
What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect Design Capital's ROCE?
Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets.
Design Capital has total assets of S$79m and current liabilities of S$26m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 33% of its total assets. Design Capital has a medium level of current liabilities, which would boost the ROCE.
What We Can Learn From Design Capital's ROCE
Design Capital's ROCE does look good, but the level of current liabilities also contribute to that. Design Capital shapes up well under this analysis,
but it is far from the only business delivering excellent numbers
. You might also want to check this
free
collection of companies delivering excellent earnings growth.
If you are like me, then you will
not
want to miss this
free
list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at
. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
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