If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Pretium Resources' (TSE:PVG) look very promising so lets take a look.

What is 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. The formula for this calculation on Pretium Resources is:

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

0.21 = US$199m ÷ (US$1.2b – US$238m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Thus, Pretium Resources has an ROCE of 21%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Metals and Mining industry average of 2.8%.

View our latest analysis for Pretium Resources

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Pretium Resources compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Pretium Resources.

The Trend Of ROCE

We're delighted to see that Pretium Resources is reaping rewards from its investments and has now broken into profitability. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's turned around, earning 21% which is no doubt a relief for some early shareholders. In regards to capital employed, Pretium Resources is using 24% less capital than it was five years ago, which on the surface, can indicate that the business has become more efficient at generating these returns. This could potentially mean that the company is selling some of its assets.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. Effectively this means that suppliers or short-term creditors are now funding 20% of the business, which is more than it was five years ago. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

The Bottom Line On Pretium Resources' ROCE

In a nutshell, we're pleased to see that Pretium Resources has been able to generate higher returns from less capital. Since the stock has only returned 5.1% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So exploring more about this stock could uncover a good opportunity, if the valuation and other metrics stack up.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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