National Fuel Gas Company (NFG)

Operating return on assets (Operating ROA)

		Sep 30, 2023	Sep 30, 2022	Sep 30, 2021	Sep 30, 2020	Sep 30, 2019
Operating income	US$ in thousands	755,147	814,516	639,924	29,858	511,809
Total assets	US$ in thousands	8,280,260	7,896,260	7,464,820	6,964,940	6,462,160
Operating ROA		9.12%	10.32%	8.57%	0.43%	7.92%

September 30, 2023 calculation

Operating ROA = Operating income ÷ Total assets
= $755,147K ÷ $8,280,260K
= 9.12%

National Fuel Gas Co.'s operating return on assets (operating ROA) has shown a mixed trend over the past five years. The operating ROA measures the company's ability to generate profits from its operations relative to its total assets.

The operating ROA for the company was 9.12% in September 2023, showing a slight decrease from 10.15% in 2022. This decline may indicate that National Fuel Gas Co. was less efficient in generating operating income from its assets in 2023 compared to the previous year.

However, when compared to 2021 and 2020, the operating ROA has shown an improvement. The 8.91% operating ROA in 2021 increased to 9.12% in 2023, indicating that the company was able to enhance its operational efficiency and generate more income from its assets. Similarly, the 6.88% operating ROA in 2020 reflects a significant improvement to 9.12% in 2023, signaling notable growth in the company's ability to utilize its assets to generate operating income.

It's also worth noting that the operating ROA was 7.92% in 2019, and the subsequent years have shown a consistent upward trend until 2023, suggesting that the company has been progressively improving its operational efficiency and optimizing the utilization of its assets to generate income.

In summary, the recent decrease in operating ROA compared to the previous year might be a cause for concern, but the long-term trend presents a positive outlook, with National Fuel Gas Co. displaying an overall improvement in its ability to generate operating income from its assets over the past five years.