§ Mr. Bruce-Gardyneasked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the rate of return on capital employed in Rolls-Royce (1971) in each year since nationalisation.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallThe rate of return on capital employed in Rolls-Royce Ltd. for the years 1976 to 1978, as defined by the NEB in its annual reports, was as follows:
Figures for years prior to the transfer of the company's shareholding to the NEB can only be derived from Rolls-Royce's annual reports and are not strictly comparable with the basis used in the NEB reports. However, by using a definition of return on capital employed as the company's profits before interest and tax as a percentage of net assets employed, plus bank loans and overdrafts and short-term loans, the figures for the years 1971–1975 are as follows:
per cent. 1976: -6.8 1977: 11.9 1978: 9.0
per cent. 1971 (23 Feb-31 Dec): 4.9 1972: 11.9 1973: 18.7 1974: 13.0 1975: 4.1