Yahoo Finance Returns At Centamin (LON:CEY) Are On The Way Up
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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So when we looked at Centamin (LON:CEY) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Centamin, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.17 = US$235m ÷ (US$1.4b - US$63m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).
Thus, Centamin has an ROCE of 17%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Metals and Mining industry average of 18%.
See our latest analysis for Centamin
In the above chart we have measured Centamin's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Centamin here for free.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
Centamin's ROCE growth is quite impressive. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 73% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.
The Bottom Line On Centamin's ROCE
As discussed above, Centamin appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 14% in the last five years. So researching this company further and determining whether or not these trends will continue seems justified.
Centamin does have some risks, we noticed 2 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.
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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.
