Returns On Capital Are Showing Encouraging Signs At IMPACT Silver (CVE:IPT)

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. 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. 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, we've noticed some promising trends at IMPACT Silver (CVE:IPT) so let's look a bit deeper.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for IMPACT Silver:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.042 = CA$2.7m ÷ (CA$67m - CA$2.3m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

So, IMPACT Silver has an ROCE of 4.2%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 3.8%, it's still a low return by itself.

See our latest analysis for IMPACT Silver

roce

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 IMPACT Silver's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is IMPACT Silver's ROCE Trending?

Shareholders will be relieved that IMPACT Silver has broken into profitability. The company was generating losses five years ago, but has managed to turn it around and as we saw earlier is now earning 4.2%, which is always encouraging. On top of that, what's interesting is that the amount of capital being employed has remained steady, so the business hasn't needed to put any additional money to work to generate these higher returns. With no noticeable increase in capital employed, it's worth knowing what the company plans on doing going forward in regards to reinvesting and growing the business. Because in the end, a business can only get so efficient.

The Key Takeaway

To bring it all together, IMPACT Silver has done well to increase the returns it's generating from its capital employed. And given the stock has remained rather flat over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here if other metrics are strong. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

IMPACT Silver does have some risks though, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for IMPACT Silver that you might be interested in.

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.

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.

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