ROIC Formula (Return on Invested Capital)

Table of Contents

• What is ROIC Formula?
• Examples

What is ROIC Formula (Return on Invested Capital)?

Return on Invested Capital or ROIC formula is the return generated by investor’s capital in a company, mainly from equity, bonds, and debentures for a particular period of the year or the year as a whole. Return on Invested Capital formula is a financial ratio that shows the profitability of investing in a company.

Return on Invested Capital Formula (ROIC) is represented as below,

Explanation of ROIC Formula

ROIC calculation is done by using the Net Operating Profit. Once the Operating Profit is calculated, we deduct Tax from the same, as we need Net Profit. This is the “Return” that the company has generated from all the capital it has used up during the period.

The denominator is the total invested capital by the company during that particular period. This may include capital raised from the market plus the company’s equity.

In, Return on Invested Capital Formula we are trying to determine the percentage of conversion of capital into returns by the company. Hence, this is used as a profitability ratio.

Meaning of Individual Components of the ROIC Formula

Net Operating Profit after Tax

This is the profit generated after deducting all possible deductions from the reported sales and profit amount. However, we mention only Tax in the formula as a deduction because; Tax is an essential component in calculating profits. This is an external component which is paid to the government of the Land. Actual profit has arrived only after Taxes are deducted. Again, if the company is listed in markets, we also need to deduct any dividends being paid out from Net Profit to arrive at this numerator.

Total Invested Capital

This is the total amount invested by the company during that particular period. This amount includes its own equity plus the debts it has raised from markets (if any).

Example of ROIC Formula (with Excel Template)

Let’s see some simple to an advanced example of Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) formula to understand it better.

ROIC Formula – Example #1

Company ABC manufactures Copper wires. In the year 2016, its net profits were $500,000. The company management decided to enhance sales and thus profits as an objective for the year 2017. For doing this, they raised capital in the form of stocks amounting to $2.5M. The retained earnings to be used for 2017 were $100,000. At the end of 2017, they made a Net profit (after tax deductions) of $575,000 and paid $100,000 as dividends to stockholders. We need to do the calculation of ROIC for 2017.

• Net Profit after Tax: $575,000
• Dividends paid out: $100,000
• Total Invested Capital: $2,500,000 + $100,000 = $2,600,000

In below-given template is the data of Company ABC for the ROIC calculation.

So, the Calculation of ROIC of Company ABC will be as follows:

ROIC = Net Operating Profit after Tax -Dividends / Total Invested Capital

ROIC =($575,000  – $100,000)

So, Return on Invested Capital will be:

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) of Company ABC =18.3%

Analysis: The company has a good return capacity. It means to say that if we invest 2.5M in the company, it generates $575K of profit after all tax deductions, with a capacity to repay $100,000 to its stockholders as well.

ROIC Formula – Example #2

Best Paints Ltd. has reported its net profit after taxes as $100,000 in 2017. The total invested capital for the firm is $2,000,000, wherein total debt component is $800,000 and the rest is equity. ROIC calculation for Best Paints and analyze it for investing decisions.

In below-given table is the data of Best Paints Ltd for calculation of  ROIC Formula.

Therefore, Calculation of (ROIC) Return on Invested Capital of Best Paints Ltd will be as follows,

Return on Invested Capital formula (ROIC)=Net Operating Profit after Tax / Total Invested Capital

ROIC =  $100,000 /$2,000,000

So, Return on Invested Capital of Best Paints Ltd will be:

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) of Best Paints Ltd = 5.0%

Analysis: ROIC for the firm is only 5%. However, it should be noted that the total invested capital of $2M for the year, the major component is equity ($1.2M), with a debt of only $0.8M. Hence, the company would have to repay more to the investors than the debt holders.

ROIC Formula – Example #3

Triumph Solutions makes a net profit of $500,000 in 2015. The total invested capital is $1,800,000 for the year. A legal tax rate is 40%. Calculate the ROIC for Triumph Solutions for 2015.

In below-given table is the data of Triumph Solutions for calculation of  ROIC Formula.

• Net Profit (before taxes): $500,000
• Total invested capital: $1,800,000
• Tax Rate: 40%

Therefore, Calculation of ROIC of Triumph Solutions will be as follows,

Return on Invested Capital Formula (ROIC)=Net Operating Profit after Tax / Total Invested Capital

ROIC=$500,000 (1-0.4) / $1,800,000

So, Return on Invested Capital of Triumph Solutions will be:

Return on Invested Capital Formula (ROIC) of Triumph Solutions =16.67%

ROIC Formula Calculator

Relevance and Uses of ROIC Formula

ROIC Formula is majorly used while analysts are working on company analysis. Majorly it is relevant for the following uses:

• ROIC Formula is a measure of how well a company can convert its capital into returns. Hence, this ratio helps investors understand returns from their investments.
• With results calculated over a period of time for a particular company, one can follow the company’s growth pattern and use this trending for forecasting the company’s typical plans in the future.
• ROIC sometimes also suggests the capital structure of the company. With the breakup of the total invested capital to equity and debt, one can try to analyze the debt and equity ratio invested by the firm and thereafter understand its related future prospects.
• Analyzing Return on Invested Capital Formula over a period of time can enable the company to understand its growth trend, and likewise make suitable decisions for future investments and/or renewals and liquidation of existing debt components.

Conclusion

Return on Invested Capital Formula is a measure of income generated by a company from its investments. The better the ratio, the better and more profitable it is to invest in the company. However, it is important to understand that the denominator used is “total invested capital”, and not particularly debt or equity. Hence, analyzing the structure of its components would give a much better understanding to investors and analysts. A higher debt component may also mean that the company is using up its debt to generate returns – it may require to repay a higher component of returns to its loans.

Thus, a complete and true understanding of the company’s returns would be only made after each component of numerator and denominator are properly analyzed.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to ROIC Formula. Here we discuss the formula to calculate Return on Invested Capital using practical examples and downloadable excel templates. You may learn more about Financial Analysis from the following articles –

• ROCE Formula (Return on Capital Employed)
• Disadvantages of Marginal Tax Rate
• Excel Forecast Formula
• Equity Ratio Formula
• NOPAT Formula
• ROIC vs ROCE – Compare
• Economic Value Added (EVA) Formula
• Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)