Evaluating Somany Ceramics Limited’s (NSE:SOMANYCERA) Investments In Its Business

Today we'll look at Somany Ceramics Limited (NSE:SOMANYCERA) and reflect on its potential as an investment. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business.

First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Then we'll determine how its current liabilities are affecting 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. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.'

How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed?

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 Somany Ceramics:

0.12 = ₹1.2b ÷ (₹17b - ₹6.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)

Therefore, Somany Ceramics has an ROCE of 12%.

Check out our latest analysis for Somany Ceramics

Does Somany Ceramics Have A Good ROCE?

When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. Using our data, Somany Ceramics's ROCE appears to be around the 13% average of the Building industry. Separate from how Somany Ceramics stacks up against its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is mediocre; relative to the returns on government bonds. Readers may find more attractive investment prospects elsewhere.

Somany Ceramics's current ROCE of 12% is lower than its ROCE in the past, which was 22%, 3 years ago. So investors might consider if it has had issues recently. The image below shows how Somany Ceramics's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth.

NSEI:SOMANYCERA Past Revenue and Net Income, August 19th 2019
NSEI:SOMANYCERA Past Revenue and Net Income, August 19th 2019

Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

How Somany Ceramics's Current Liabilities Impact Its ROCE

Liabilities, such as supplier bills and bank overdrafts, are referred to as current liabilities if they need to be paid within 12 months. 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 counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.

Somany Ceramics has total liabilities of ₹6.4b and total assets of ₹17b. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 38% of its total assets. Somany Ceramics's middling level of current liabilities have the effect of boosting its ROCE a bit.

The Bottom Line On Somany Ceramics's ROCE

Despite this, its ROCE is still mediocre, and you may find more appealing investments elsewhere. Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Somany Ceramics. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Thank you for reading.