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. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding 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. So when we looked at Omikenshi (TSE:3111) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
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. The formula for this calculation on Omikenshi is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.017 = JP¥128m ÷ (JP¥15b - JP¥7.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
So, Omikenshi has an ROCE of 1.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Luxury industry average of 4.2%.
View our latest analysis for Omikenshi
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 Omikenshi's past further, check out this free graph covering Omikenshi's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
It's great to see that Omikenshi has started to generate some pre-tax earnings from prior investments. While the business is profitable now, it used to be incurring losses on invested capital five years ago. Additionally, the business is utilizing 66% less capital than it was five years ago, and taken at face value, that can mean the company needs less funds at work to get a return. The reduction could indicate that the company is selling some assets, and considering returns are up, they appear to be selling the right ones.
For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. Effectively this means that suppliers or short-term creditors are now funding 50% of the business, which is more than it was five years ago. And with current liabilities at those levels, that's pretty high.
From what we've seen above, Omikenshi has managed to increase it's returns on capital all the while reducing it's capital base. Given the stock has declined 32% in the last five years, this could be a good investment if the valuation and other metrics are also appealing. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.
Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Omikenshi (of which 2 are concerning!) that you should know about.
While Omikenshi 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.
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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.