Yahoo Finance Here's What To Make Of Green Cross Health's (NZSE:GXH) Returns On Capital
What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Green Cross Health (NZSE:GXH) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.
Understanding 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. To calculate this metric for Green Cross Health, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.13 = NZ$34m ÷ (NZ$377m - NZ$109m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2020).
Thus, Green Cross Health has an ROCE of 13%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Consumer Retailing industry average of 9.6% it's much better.
Check out our latest analysis for Green Cross Health
While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you're interested in investigating Green Cross Health's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What Can We Tell From Green Cross Health's ROCE Trend?
On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Green Cross Health doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 19% over the last five years. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.
The Bottom Line
In summary, Green Cross Health is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Since the stock has declined 52% over the last five years, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.
Green Cross Health does have some risks, we noticed 3 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.
While Green Cross Health may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.
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. 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.
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