Return on Operating Assets Definition

Return on Operating Assets Formula

Return on operating assets is calculated as the percentage return from assets used in the business’s core revenue-generating activities. It is an efficiency ratioEfficiency RatioEfficiency ratios are a measure of how effectively a company manages its assets and liabilities and include formulas like asset turnover, inventory turnover, receivables turnover, and accounts payable turnover.read more, one of the important ratios used in financial planning and analysisFinancial Planning And AnalysisFinancial planning and analysis (FP&A) is budgeting, analyzing, and forecasting the financial data to align with its financial objectives and support its strategic decisions. It helps investors to know if the company is stable and profitable for investment.read more.

Key Takeaways

  • Return on operating assets measures the company’s profitability from investing in the assets used in daily business activities. In other words, it shows the profit from day-to-day operating assets such as fixed assets, inventory, cash, and accounts receivable. It is an essential ratio used in financial planning and analysis. It is slightly different from Return on Total Assets formula that considers a firm’s total assets.If a company uses different accounting or depreciation methods, it must adjust the procedure in the financial analysis. The higher ratios show higher profitability. A ratio below 1 indicates the inefficient usage of the operating assets.

It is slightly different from the return on total assets formulaReturn On Total Assets FormulaReturn on Total Assets is a measure of a company’s income proceeds left for shareholders divided by the total assets owned by the company. ROA = Net Income/Total Assets.read more, which considers total assets owned by the firm. In this case, we only take the current assets, primarily involved in generating revenue. So, it has two broad components: –

  • Net IncomeNet IncomeNet income for individuals and businesses refers to the amount of money left after subtracting direct and indirect expenses, taxes, and other deductions from their gross income. The income statement typically mentions it as the last line item, reflecting the profits made by an entity.read more: Net income involves the residual incomeResidual IncomeResidual income refers to the net earnings an organization possess after paying off the cost of capital. It is acquired by deducting the equity charges from the company’s net profit or income.read more of the business, which is left for the distribution to the shareholdersShareholdersA shareholder is an individual or an institution that owns one or more shares of stock in a public or a private corporation and, therefore, are the legal owners of the company. The ownership percentage depends on the number of shares they hold against the company’s total shares.read more.Current Assets: : It involves assets like cash, accounts receivablesAccounts ReceivablesAccounts receivables is the money owed to a business by clients for which the business has given services or delivered a product but has not yet collected payment. They are categorized as current assets on the balance sheet as the payments expected within a year.
  • read more, and other current assetsOther Current AssetsOther current assets refer to the category of assets which record all the uncommon and insignificant assets readily convertible into cash and doesn’t fit in any common current assets categories like cash & cash equivalents, inventory, trade receivables, etc.read more of the company, which are responsible for generating revenue/income.

The formula for return on operating assets is net income over the current investment, expressed in percentage form.

Return on Operating Assets Formula = Net Income / Operating Assets

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The higher the return, the better it is for the company. Operating assets include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and fixed assetsFixed AssetsFixed assets are assets that are held for the long term and are not expected to be converted into cash in a short period of time. Plant and machinery, land and buildings, furniture, computers, copyright, and vehicles are all examples.read more that contribute to everyday operations.

Calculation of Return on Operating Assets (with Examples)

Below are some examples to understand this in a better manner.

Example #1

Solution:

First, we need to calculate the portion of current assets = 50% of $200,00,00

Current AssetsCurrent AssetsCurrent assets refer to those short-term assets which can be efficiently utilized for business operations, sold for immediate cash or liquidated within a year. It comprises inventory, cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, accounts receivable, etc.read more =200,00,00 * 50 =$100,00,00

Calculation of ROOA

= 500,000 / 1,000,000

ROOA =50%

Example #2

First, we need to calculate the portion of current assets = 50% of $2,500,000

Current Assets= 2500000*50=$1,250,000

=10,000 / 1,250,000

ROOA =1%

Advantages

  • The formula is used in the industry to calculate the return on the asset. It is an important return ratio matrix for the investors and the shareholders. It is used for financial ratio comparisonFinancial Ratio ComparisonFinancial ratios are indications of a company’s financial performance. There are several forms of financial ratios that indicate the company’s results, financial risks, and operational efficiency, such as the liquidity ratio, asset turnover ratio, operating profitability ratios, business risk ratios, financial risk ratio, stability ratios, and so on.read more and peer group analysis.It is different from the return on total assetsTotal AssetsTotal Assets is the aggregate of liabilities and shareholder funds. It can also be computed by combining current and noncurrent assets.read more. The analysis becomes more meaningful because it considers only those assets used to generate revenue and operate day-to-day businessOperate Day-to-day BusinessBusiness operations refer to all those activities that the employees undertake within an organizational setup daily to produce goods and services for accomplishing the company’s goals like profit generation.read more.

Limitations

  • Since the formula considers the asset’s book value, it significantly understates the asset’s value from the actual market value of those assets.The procedure needs to be adjusted in the financial analysis if companies use different accounting methodsAccounting MethodsAccounting methods define the set of rules and procedure that an organization must adhere to while recording the business revenue and expenditure. Cash accounting and accrual accounting are the two significant accounting methods.read more or  depreciation methods for Depreciation Methods For The AssetsDepreciation is a systematic allocation method used to account for the costs of any physical or tangible asset throughout its useful life. Its value indicates how much of an asset’s worth has been utilized. Depreciation enables companies to generate revenue from their assets while only charging a fraction of the cost of the asset in use each year.
  • read more purchasing assets.

Conclusion

ROOA is used to measure the company’s operating profitability and operating assets utilization efficiency. Higher ratios indicate higher profitabilityProfitabilityProfitability refers to a company’s ability to generate revenue and maximize profit above its expenditure and operational costs. It is measured using specific ratios such as gross profit margin, EBITDA, and net profit margin. It aids investors in analyzing the company’s performance.read more, while ratios below 1 mean inefficient use of the operating assets. Nevertheless, ROOA is an important formula for financial analysisFinancial AnalysisFinancial analysis is an analysis of finance-related projects/activities, company’s financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, and notes to accounts) or financial ratios to evaluate the company’s results, performance, and trends, which is useful for making significant decisions such as investment, project planning and financing activities.read more.

This article has been a guide to Return on Operating Assets. Here we discuss how to calculate Return on Operating Assets and examples, advantages, and limitations. You can learn more about financing from the following articles: –

One can calculate the rate of return on assets by dividing the firm’s net income by the operating assets. Analysts can express it as a percentage.

If a company’s return on assets is over 5%, one can regard it as good. In addition, a rate of return on assets over 20% is considered excellent.

A return on assets is a financial ratio that measures a company’s profitability by its total assets. In other words, it indicates how much revenue the company generates from the invested assets or capital.

Return on Total Assets means the ratio received by calculating the company’s earnings before interest and taxes concerning its total net assets invested in it. It also shows how efficiently the company is managed to earn profits.

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