Irish Continental Group (LON:ICGC) Is Experiencing Growth In Returns On Capital

Simply Wall St

Fri, February 13, 2026 at 9:25 PM GMT+9 3 min read

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IRCUF

-8.97%

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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Irish Continental Group’s (LON:ICGC) returns on capital, so let’s have a look.

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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 Irish Continental Group is:

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

0.17 = €78m ÷ (€698m - €226m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).

Thus, **Irish Continental Group has an ROCE of 17%. ** In absolute terms, that’s a satisfactory return, but compared to the Shipping industry average of 8.0% it’s much better.

Check out our latest analysis for Irish Continental Group

LSE:ICGC Return on Capital Employed February 13th 2026

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Irish Continental Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there’s only so much you can tell from the past. If you’re interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Irish Continental Group .

What Can We Tell From Irish Continental Group’s ROCE Trend?

Irish Continental Group has not disappointed with their ROCE growth. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 181% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company’s efficiencies. The company is doing well in that sense, and it’s worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

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 32% 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.

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Our Take On Irish Continental Group’s ROCE

To sum it up, Irish Continental Group is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that’s impressive. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 65% return over the last five years. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it’s worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

One more thing, we’ve spotted ** 2 warning signs ** facing Irish Continental Group that you might find interesting.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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

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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