Yesterday I talked about Diploma (DPLM) and their calculation of adjusted return on capital. This morning Halma (HLMA) published their half year results and they also have a strong emphasis on return on capital, but in this case they call it “ROTIC” (Return On Total Invested Capital). This was down slightly at 13.4% and they define it as Adjusted Profit After Tax divided by Total Invested Capital. The latter is shareholders funds, plus retirement benefit obligations, less deferred tax assets, plus cumulative amortisation of acquired intangible assets plus historic adjustments to goodwill. This similar to the Diploma definition but it is not clear whether it is exactly the same and they call it something different.
As almost every company now reports “adjusted” figures of one kind or another, and analyst forecasts of earning are also usually based on adjusted profits, would it not make sense to have some standard for such data? That’s in addition to the current “statutory” figures which are mandated by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).
Some of these adjustments, like the ones above in the case of Halma to calculate return on capital make a lot of sense if you wish to obtain a somewhat different view of a company’s performance. But some do not – for example I commented negatively only recently on the figures reported by National Grid.
The FRC would be the best body to set such standards, although they appear to have avoided doing so in the past. Now it just so happens I am attending a meeting with the FRC organised by ShareSoc/UKSA later today and if I get the opportunity I will raise this issue. It would certainly help investors if companies, financial analysts and information web sites reported such adjusted data in a consistent manner, would it not?
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
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