Will SDI (ASX:SDI) Multiply In Value Going Forward?

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. However, after investigating SDI (ASX:SDI), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

What is 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 SDI, this is the formula:

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

0.066 = AU$5.1m ÷ (AU$85m - AU$7.8m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

Thus, SDI has an ROCE of 6.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 8.6%.

See our latest analysis for SDI

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for SDI's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how SDI has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Are Returns Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at SDI doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 6.6% from 14% five years ago. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

In Conclusion...

We're a bit apprehensive about SDI because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Yet despite these concerning fundamentals, the stock has performed strongly with a 65% return over the last five years, so investors appear very optimistic. Regardless, we don't feel to comfortable with the fundamentals so we'd be steering clear of this stock for now.

One final note, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with SDI (including 1 which is shouldn't be ignored) .

While SDI 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.